


Metamorphosis

by Dressed_In_Darkness



Series: Metamorphosis [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Awkward Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Badass Eren Yeager, Biker Eren Yeager, Bottom Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Bouncer Eren Yeager, Club Owner Mikasa, Crossdressing, Eren Yeager Has Heterochromia Iridum, Eventual Smut, Exotic Dancer Armin Arlert, Fluff and Humor, Isabel and Eren are Related, M/M, POV First Person, POV Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Sex Toys, Sexual Tension, Shameless Smut, Shy Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Slow Build, Tattooed Eren Yeager, Top Eren Yeager, Underground Fight Club
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 00:34:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 111,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5847046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dressed_In_Darkness/pseuds/Dressed_In_Darkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being fired from his job, Levi is in desperate need of money, and is willing to step out of his comfort zone in order to get it. In fact that is the only reason why he accepted to be interviewed by his best friend's older brother at a diner. He doesn't expect much from it. That is until he sees Eren Jaeger, who's gorgeous in every way imaginable, and is about to change his life completely when he convinces Levi to take the job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I tried not to write another ereri fic, but I couldn't resist. This pairing calls to me so damn much, and I am once again reminded that I truly suck at writing summaries. Like, wow, someone aid me in this. 
> 
> Anywho, before you even begin to read, please understand that everything in this is fiction and shouldn't, in any way, be compared to reality. The reason I'm stating this is because a lot of people in this fandom have taken the fun out of fiction, constantly comparing it to reality and calling writer's and shippers names because of things that are purely make-believe. It's honestly sad, but if you decide to post a hateful comment, just know that it will be deleted. I won't take the time to respond to that stuff.
> 
> With that being said, this fic will contain a lot of fun (at least I think so) stuff. Please read the tags so you have an idea of what's to come. I could explain, but where's the fun in that? :)
> 
> You can find me on [Tumblr](http://dressed-in-darkness.tumblr.com/) <3

What kind of person held a job interview at a rundown diner in the middle of the night? This had bad news written all over it, but as it stands, I was desperate for money. I couldn’t just walk away from this, not when Isabel had gone out on a limb for me. She wasn’t even close with her older brother, yet she’d dropped everything to contact him, so it was safe to assume that throwing this opportunity away would be a huge waste. According to her, there was quite a bit of money to be made if Eren hired me on. I had to keep that in mind.

            Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm my frayed nerves, I strode into the diner and scanned the booths. I’d never met Eren before today, but if he looked anything like Izzy, he’d be easy to spot. Plus, there weren’t a lot of people here at this hour. The ones that were here were sitting at the counter, talking to the waitress on shift as they drank down their coffee. I felt exposed while I stood there clutching onto the strap of my messenger bag, like if anyone turned their attention to me, they’d be able to tell that I had no idea what I was doing.

            As I considered my options, someone burst through the front entrance, startling me enough to make me whirl around on the spot. I came face to face with a tall brunette that was sporting a crooked smile that should’ve been illegal. He regarded me with stunning eyes, the right iris the same shade as a Paraiba Tourmaline stone, while the left iris was a deep honey color. Oh, jeez, he was hot. I prayed that this wasn’t Eren, because I couldn’t utter one word.

            “Levi?” he questioned. His voice could only be described as smooth and sensual, making my name sound delicious.

            Snapping out of it, I blurted, “U-um, how do you know my name?” This couldn’t really be Izzy’s older brother, right?

            The man slipped his hand into his front pocket and produced his cell phone. He messed around with it for a bit before he turned the screen in my direction. He’d opened up a picture of me standing next to Izzy, our cheeks smashed together. We’d taken that over a month ago. “Isabel wanted to make sure that I found you, so she sent me this earlier today.”

            Okay, so there was no doubt about it now: This—this gorgeous man that kept eye contact with me like it was his mission in life—was Eren. I needed to stop acting like a complete moron and introduce myself properly. If I was incapable of that, then how could I expect him to hire me?

            Nervous and embarrassed by my reaction, I thrust my hand out. “N-nice to meet you,” I stammered, hoping he hadn’t noticed. “I’m Levi Ackerman. Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.”

            Instead of shaking my hand, he leaned forward and tapped the side of my glasses. “That’s cute. You weren’t wearing glasses in the picture.”

            _Cute?!_

With great effort on my part, I remained calm. I needed to stay professional, to show him that I _could_ be professional, even under these circumstances. “Um, thank you. Would you like to take a seat, so we can begin the interview?”

            “So polite,” Eren said in a playful tone, flashing me a breathtaking smile. He gestured to the front counter. “Pick a seat.”

            I reacted without thought, jerking forward to practically lunge at the first available stool in front of me. As I settled in my seat, I kept my eyes glued to the floor, refusing to meet Eren’s gaze as he sat in the empty stool next to mine. I had an exceptional view of his blue jeans and black leather boots.

            “You don’t have to be so nervous,” he assured.

            Before I could respond, the waitress came over to take our order. “Well, I haven’t seen your mug around here in a while, Eren. How’ve you been?”

            I looked up in time to watch Eren pull out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. He tapped a cigarette out. “I’ve been just fine,” he said, “but I’ll be even better if you let me smoke in here.” The waitress raised an eyebrow. “C’mon, Sasha, I’ll leave a very generous tip.”

            She put her hand on her hip, but I could already tell that she was going to give in. “Fine, but at least order something.”

            “I’ll take the usual cup of coffee.” He slid the clove cigarette he held between his lips while he patted down his pockets in search of a lighter. “Want anything, Levi?”

            “Uh, I’ll have a cup of coffee, as well.”

            “Two cups of coffee coming right up,” Sasha said, smacking her hand down on the counter before she whipped around and walked to the coffee machine.

            With his cigarette lit, Eren turned to me. “This won’t take long at all. In fact, we probably just ordered those cups of coffee for nothing, because I only have two questions for you.” He tilted his head back and blew out a puff of smoke that drifted up toward a vent above us. “The first question is: How do you feel about fighting?”

            My eyebrows pinched together, because that didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever. What did that have to do with anything? Did the job I was interviewing for require fighting? If it did, I got myself into something I wasn’t prepared to do. “I don’t understand,” I said, the words leaving my mouth slowly. “Does this job require me to fight?”

            “No. It just requires you to watch over people fighting.”

            “Well, I could do that.” _If you paid me, that is._

            “Sure about that?” he asked. “Strictly speaking, it’s not legal.”

            I stared at him for a long time, confused about this entire thing. Isabel had told me that there was money to be made at this job, but she never once mentioned that it would involve illegal activity. What in the hell was she thinking? Sure, I was in desperate need of money, but I wasn’t willing to get my ass thrown in jail for it. I would rather take out another loan with the bank before I had anything to do with this.

            Out of nowhere, Eren laughed. When my eyes flicked in his direction, he asked, in a business-like tone, “Tell me, do you always follow the rules, Mr. Ackerman?”

            Now he was making fun of me?

            Angry, I said, “For your information, I don’t feel like going to jail any time soon. So, if you’ll excuse me—”

            “What if I told you that you could make sixteen hundred dollars tonight?”

            I faltered. Sixteen hundred dollars was a good amount of money to make in one night. That would also pay my rent, which was due in two weeks.

            Sensing my hesitation, he added, “I have connections with the police. Trust me when I say that you won’t go to jail, not tonight or any other night.”

            No matter how you looked at it, this was a bad idea, but I couldn’t afford to pass it up. Since I’d lost my job last month, money had been tight, and bills were beginning to pile up. If there were any other options other than this one, I would gladly take it, because I’d never broken the law before. Like Eren had assumed earlier, I followed the rules without question.

            “Sixteen hundred dollars,” I murmured before I looked up at him. “Is that guaranteed?”

            Eren smiled around his cigarette. “Nice to know you can bite back. Also, yes, that’s guaranteed. I never lose a fight.”

            “Wait, hold on, _you’re_ fighting?”

            At that exact moment, Sasha came back with our cups of coffee. She put them down in front of us with a spark in her eyes. “Oh, you’ve never seen Eren fight before? You’re in for a real treat then. He’s the best of the best.”

            “You flatter me,” Eren said, winking. He stood up after that, pinning me down with those astounding eyes of his. “You in? I have to be at the warehouse in twenty.”

            “Before I go,” I sputtered out in a rush, “how exactly will _I_ make sixteen hundred dollars? Watching over the fight doesn’t seem like much.”

            “It’s more important than you think. We need someone with unbiased views to watch over the fights. If one of the other guys were to do it, they’d side with the person they bet on.”

            That made sense. So, technically speaking here, all I had to do to earn sixteen hundred dollars was stand around and watch a couple of guys duke it out. That didn’t sound too bad. Other than the fact that it was illegal, it was an easy way to earn some quick cash. Now I just had to convince myself that this was worth the risk, because going to jail didn’t sound appealing. Even when Eren assured me that that wouldn’t happen, I had my doubts.

            While I was mulling it over, Eren slipped a fifty-dollar bill beside the saucer. “Coming?” he asked. Before I could change my mind, which I was ten seconds away from doing, I stood up and nodded. “Okay, let’s head out. Since I need to hurry, I’ll drive us there. I don’t have time to give you directions.”

            “Okay.” That was for the best. Otherwise I’d wind up convincing myself to drive straight home.

            “See you around, Sasha!” Eren called as he walked to the front entrance. I was quick to follow after him, already feeling like I’d committed a crime. This proved that I was a straitlaced guy. Maybe this was what I needed right now. After all, you were only twenty once, right? You had to live it up while you still could. At least that’s what I would continue to tell myself in order to not back down from this.

            Out in the parking lot, I kept to myself until Eren stopped in front of a sleek black motorcycle. Then I looked from him to the bike several times, but nothing changed. Was he really expecting me to just hop right on? I didn’t even know him.

            As if he were reading my mind, Eren patted the seat. When I didn’t budge an inch, he leaned up against the bike, folding his arms over his chest. “Are you this conservative about everything?”

            “Is there something wrong with that?”

            “Yes,” he responded right away. “It’s boring.”

            This guy had some nerve. It didn’t surprise me any, seeing as his sister was just as unpredictable. But I wasn’t going to let him have the last laugh. I’d prove that I could get on the back of a motorcycle. “Move aside,” I said, swinging my leg over the seat while I pretended that my heart wasn’t thumping wildly in my chest. I could handle this. Nothing bad was going to happen.

            With a sinful smirk on his face, Eren handed me a matte black helmet. “Put that on.” As I took my glasses off, he climbed on the bike and I slid forward with the momentum, my front pressing against his back. I didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed about it before he said, “Hold on,” and started up the motorcycle. I quickly shoved my glasses into my messenger bag and slid on the helmet. Then we were moving forward.

            Needless to say, I tried to avoid holding onto him. I really did. But when he picked up speed, I all but strangled his waist with my arms. We were going way too fast, buildings and cars flashing by us in an eruption of colors and sounds that the helmet couldn’t muffle. I tried to distract myself from it, but every sensation and sound was heightened. I was hyperaware of the feel of Eren’s hard stomach beneath my hands, his warm back pressed to my chest. It was all I could think about.

            For the rest of the ride, I focused on Eren and Eren alone. It made things a little easier for me. So I wasn’t even aware when we stopped. It took him giving my side a few pats to bring me back to the here and now.

            “Oh,” I said in surprise, releasing my hold on him like the contact was burning me.

            “We need to get inside. If I’m late, they’ll count that as a forfeit.”

            In response, I hurried off the bike, tripping over my own feet in the process. Eren caught me before I could fall on my face. He didn’t let go until I regained my balance. “Sorry,” I mumbled under my breath.

            “Don’t worry about it.” He put his hands on either side of the helmet and slipped it off my head. “Let’s go. I’ll explain the rules once we’re inside.”

            When he’d said warehouse earlier, I pictured something out of a movie, but all that lied ahead of us was a red brick building that was smaller than your average grocery store. It didn’t look very impressive. Then again, when I thought about it that was probably done on purpose, to not draw any unwanted attention. It put me at ease. If a cop decided to drive by here, they wouldn’t suspect a thing.

            After Eren hung his helmet on one of the handlebars of his motorcycle, he started walking. I hurried to catch up, having to speed walk in order to keep in pace with him. He had this faraway look in his eyes and there was something frightening about it. Sasha, the waitress back at the diner, had said that he was the best of the best when it came to fighting. But what had he done to earn that title?

            “You know,” said Eren as we reached the side door, “Isabel doesn’t approve of me doing this. I’m surprised that she’s willing to get one of her best friend’s involved.”

            I swallowed, nervous again. “Um, well, I’m pretty low on funds right now.” _Really_ low on funds. Otherwise I’d be at home with a cup of tea in hand.

            “So I’ve heard.” He opened the door and gestured for me to go in first. “Stick with me and that’ll be a problem of the past.”

            Once again, he gave me no time to react, urging me inside with a hand pressed to the small of my back. I stepped into a dim entryway, Eren close behind. I didn’t know where to go from here, so I waited for him to squeeze by me and take the lead. When he didn’t, I opened my mouth to ask where to go, but before I could utter a word, he leaned in close and whispered, “Go to the left. Follow the hallway.”

            Fumbling forward, I attempted to forget the way his warm breath on my ear had sent a fierce shiver through my spine. That wasn’t hard to do, considering the hallway I was walking down was dark enough to make me question my rash decision to accept this sketchy job. This could end in murder and I had no one to blame but myself. _And_ Isabel. She led me to believe that this was a safe option to earn money.

            When I reached the end of the hallway, Eren snaked his arm around me to open up a door in front of us. It revealed a staircase that led down to a dark room. Okay, this was my cue to head back the other way. I was not about to end up on the ten o’clock news.

            “It’s an underground warehouse,” Eren said from behind me, sensing my uncertainty. “Haven’t you ever seen the movie _Fight Club?_ ”

            “No.”

            “Yeah, well, it’s what inspired me to start this thing up.”

            I grabbed onto the strap of my messenger bag that rested against my chest and took the first step. I’d already come this far. There was no point in turning back now. I needed to see this through to the end.

            The closer we got to the warehouse, the louder it became. I could hear shouting and the stomping of feet, could feel the vibrations from the uproar. Though I was heading toward the unknown, something inside of me welled up. Was this excitement? Or fear? I couldn’t tell anymore, but I wanted to see what was down there, wanted to know why Eren was called the best of the best.

            The first thing I saw when I made it to the main floor was a large group of men, all shirtless and sweaty. They didn’t notice us come in until Eren shouted, “MEN!” then they all turned around at once, their eyes honing in on me. “This is Levi. He’s going to be our new referee. Don’t give him any problems.”

            The men bombarded me with greetings after that.

            Feeling the need to respond somehow, I raised my hand in an awkward wave. “Hi,” I said.

            A tall blonde called out, “The new meat is cute.”

            “Touch him and I’ll break your fucking neck, Reiner,” Eren interjected, pointing at the man all the while. Then to the crowd, “He’s off limits for everyone!” I eyed him like he’d gone insane. He smiled at me when he noticed, resting his hand on the top of my head. “Trust me, it needed to be said. Some of these guys would eat you alive and I don’t think Isabel would appreciate that.”

            Well then.       

            “You were going to explain the rules to me?” I asked in an attempt to erase the image his latest sentence had conjured up.

            “It’s simple, really. Fighters aren’t allowed to hit anything below the waist; no biting; and if they yell out, ‘white,’ it’s an automatic forfeit.”

            “Okay,” I said, nodding. “I get it.”

            “Good.” Without warning, Eren grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked it up and over his head. I was greeted with a six-pack that made my mouth water a little bit. Wow. Holy shit. “Mind holding this?” he asked, tossing the shirt to me before I could reply. That was all good and dandy, because I couldn’t speak anyway.

            “Eh, um, where do I stand when the fight starts?” I sputtered out. He had a black tribal tattoo that snaked up his well-defined bicep and wrapped around his shoulder, which was smooth and tan and perfect. God, Isabel could’ve told me that her older brother was sexy as hell. It would’ve been nice to know ahead of time.

            Eren smirked when my eyes finally met his after they had traveled up the length of his body. My face heated up in a millisecond, and I was forced to avert my gaze (for the sake of my sanity). “Right over there.” He pointed to an empty spot behind the men and I rushed over to it without saying another word, too embarrassed that I’d been caught staring. This whole thing was crazy, but I was still here to perform a job. I had to keep some semblance of professionalism.

            Once I was far enough away, I turned my eyes to the crowd. Everyone was gathering around Eren as he made his way to the center of the room, whooping and hollering loud enough to make me flinch back. He raised his arms up to quiet them down some, which stretched out his torso in a way that couldn’t be ignored.

            “So, who’s taking me on tonight?” Eren questioned after everyone settled down, smiling wide to egg on any challengers. “I know you guys decided already. Let me hear it.”

            The blonde from earlier (Reiner, was it?) stepped up. A barrage of yells and whistles assaulted my ears. I clung onto my bag, fishing out my glasses so I could see everything that went on during the fight. The rules were simple enough. If Reiner or Eren tried anything, I’d call them out on it. That’s all I had to do.

            “Reiner,” Eren said with a grin on his face. “Didn’t learn your lesson last time?”

            Reiner cracked his neck. “I’m winning tonight.”

            “We’ll see about that. You see, I promised Levi over there that he’d go home with sixteen hundred dollars cash. Do you really think I’m going to let him down?”

            Everyone turned to stare at me, putting me on the spot yet again. “U-um,” I stammered, unable to go on.

            “So cute,” Reiner said, giving me a wink.

            _No. Please, no._

            Suddenly Eren’s playful expression melted away to a serious one. “Now I’m really going to hurt you.”

            Reiner raised his fists. “Oh? Did I hit a nerve? Don’t tell me you have the hots for the cutie over there?”

            I wanted to tell this Reiner guy that Eren was just trying to protect me for his sister’s sake, that he didn’t want to deal with her wrath if anything happened to me while I was here, but I couldn’t work up the nerve to say it aloud.

            “Levi!” Eren called.

            I jolted. “Y-yes?”

            “Come over here and start the fight.”

            “Come again?” I asked. I had no idea what he was talking about.

            Eren waved me over. “Come here.”

            Ignoring everyone’s stares as best I could, I made my way over to him. When I got to him, he put his hands on my shoulders, but before he could say anything, Reiner cooed, “Just say ‘fight’ and wave us on, cutie.” Someone in the crowd laughed, which pissed me off. This guy was getting on my nerves.

            I turned away from Eren to face this overgrown monkey. “You can stop that now. Seriously, it’s never going to happen.” I was shocked that I managed to say all that without stuttering. I felt incredibly proud of myself, and when I saw Eren grinning from ear to ear, I flashed him a smug smile. _See, I can take care of myself._

“Okay,” I said, raising my arm above my head and rejoicing in Reiner’s stunned expression. “Fight!” I brought my hand down and stepped back right away. The sound of knuckles meeting flesh was immediate. I didn’t see what happened, but when I looked up, I saw that Reiner’s nose was bleeding.

            So, Eren really was the best of the best. It wasn’t just talk. I was glad that I’d stuck around to see him in action.  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you can probably see, these will be weekly updates (unfortunately). I'm really busy during the week, so I only have a couple hours a day to write. But who wants to give up writing ereri fanfictions just because of that? Not this girl.
> 
> Thank you for the comments and the kudos. It's much appreciated. <3

After being at the warehouse for half an hour, I considered turning down the sixteen hundred dollars, because I’d done nothing to earn my pay. All I could focus on—in spite of the commotion surrounding me—was the sweat glistening on Eren’s abs and the way beads of it trailed down to the scrumptious V of muscle that disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans. I’d never been more attracted to anyone in my life, my imagination providing me with vivid imagery as to what lay under those jeans of his. With how worked up I was, it amazed me that I was capable of standing here without losing my cool.

            As for Reiner, I hadn’t given him a moment’s consideration since the fight began. Though now that I took the time to look at him it was hard to miss the damage that’d been done to his face. Other than the bruise blossoming around his left eye in patches of purple, he had a deep gash across his cheekbone. It was bleeding pretty badly, but that didn’t seem to faze him in the least. On the contrary, it seemed to fuel him, to drive him to win.

            “Wipe that smug look off your face, Jaeger,” Reiner said, turning his head to spit out a mouthful of saliva tinged red with blood. “I haven’t lost yet.” The men raised their fists in the air and hollered in agreement, but Eren smiled like it made no difference to him, which it probably didn’t. From the start, he had complete control of the fight, landing every punch he threw and dodging those aimed at him. The only injury he’d sustained throughout this was a cut above his right eyebrow. To put it simply, in comparison to Reiner, he looked like he’d just taken a stroll around the park.

            When everyone quieted down, Eren responded with, “But I’m just getting warmed up and you look like you’re about to collapse.”

            God, he was delicious. How was I ever going to face Izzy after tonight? I had pictured her brother naked far too many times in the past hour. It was irredeemable.

            “Levi?” Eren said out of the blue.

            Startled, I jerked back, cheeks warming up in a matter of seconds. I needed to calm down before I embarrassed myself again. If I was going to accomplish that any time soon, I had to stop thinking about him in ways that made me fidget. I was here to referee the fight, not to drool over him. “Yes?” I replied, hoping my voice didn’t give me away.

            “Do you want me to wrap this up soon? Or can I drag it out a little longer?”

            Reiner made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded more animal than human. I couldn’t blame him. Eren wasn’t taking him seriously, belittling his skills in front of everyone here. “Don’t think it’ll be that easy, Jaeger!”

            Eren effortlessly dodged a jab while he waited for me to answer. Truth be told, I could watch him fight for hours and not get tired of it, but I was in way over my head. The entire night had gone in a whole different direction than what I’d been expecting it to. Right now I wanted to go home, eat greasy food that wasn’t good for me, and then take an incredibly long bath to process this. One, I was attracted to my best friend’s older brother, who was the very definition of hot. And two, I was going to earn a good sum of money illegally.

            Yeah, now was a good time to go home and eat a pint of ice cream. That would keep me comforted while I internally screamed for hours on end.

            Eren eyed me. “What’s it going to be?”

            “Well, you see, I’m a little tired…”

            Before I could finish, he swung his fist up, smacking Reiner beneath the chin hard enough to make his teeth clank together. Profound silence followed. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the inevitable. Then Reiner hit the floor in a heap of dead weight and all the men yelled at once, drowning out the silence with the intensity of their voices. In one minute flat, with one hit, Eren had won the fight without even trying. Through the crowd that was surrounding him, our eyes met and I knew that I was in trouble. So much trouble, because I couldn’t tear my gaze from his.

            I was addicted without knowing how. I only knew that I had to see him again after tonight.

            With my heart pounding hard in my chest, I watched Eren lift his hand to crook his finger at me. I couldn’t move. My legs were immobile stones beneath me, but that didn’t seem to matter, because several men came up behind me and pushed me forward until I was standing next to him. Once I was close enough, he leaned in, warm breath tickling my ear as he said, “I forgot to mention that if a fighter gets knocked out, the fight is over. Go ahead and announce the winner.” He took my hand and my knees buckled. His midriff was inches away from me, sun-kissed skin edible under the dim lighting. I tried to regain a sliver of composure, but I couldn’t even manage that.

            Everyone was looking at me. I squirmed under their expectant gazes, but I had to at least get this one thing right. “The winner of tonight’s fight is Eren Jaeger,” I said timidly, but no one cared how I said it, because when Eren brought our hands up, forcing me to stand on my tippy toes, everyone shouted in unison. I was so overwhelmed that I almost missed when Reiner was carried off. I felt bad for him. Sure he was being a douche earlier, but he just got knocked out.

            “Ready to get paid?” Eren asked after several minutes passed. He hadn’t released my hand, his fingers encased mine, keeping me rooted to the spot.

            The contact between us made me feel like an open wound, vulnerable and susceptible.

            I drew my eyes away from our hands just to see that he was already looking at me, exotic eyes boring into mine. “Are you sure? I didn’t really do much.”

            “You did what you came here to do,” he said. “You earned it.”

            I wanted to laugh, because I’d literally been gawking at him instead of keeping track of what was happening in the fight. I could remember (with precise detail) how his torso tightened and twisted when he threw a punch, but I couldn’t recall any of Reiner’s moves, or how he’d managed to snag Eren above the eyebrow. I was pretty sure that the referee was supposed to know that stuff. The fact that I was still going to get paid was nothing short of a miracle. Or was Eren taking pity on me? I _was_ his little sister’s best friend, after all.

            “Connie!” Eren yelled out, dropping my hand so he could wave someone over. Feeling nervous, I put some distance between us, which caught his attention right away. Holding my gaze, he stepped toward me, erasing the distance I’d created. I couldn’t breathe or think or do anything, for that matter. He was too close—too close!

            “U-um, well I, um…” I fumbled with the words, unable to form them into a sentence, because his eyes were roaming up my body. No. No, this was not okay. _I_ was not okay. How could he make me feel so undone just by looking at me? This wasn’t the least bit fair. I was a grown man, here in this warehouse on a job, so why couldn’t I speak to the person that was basically my boss?

            I was seconds away from combusting from the sheer intensity of his gaze when a man with a buzz cut came running up to us. He offered me a lopsided smile as he handed Eren a wad of cash that screamed at me. There was my rent money for this month. I never thought I would earn it in one night.

            “Thanks, Connie,” Eren said while his eyes wandered down to my lips. I wish he wouldn’t do that. I was having a hard time breathing, as it is. “Tell Jean that I want everyone out of here in two hours. I’m not kidding. Last time you guys decided to dick around, I was the one that had to deal with the police.”

            Connie grinned in a mischievous way as he asked, “You’re taking off already? I thought you were going to stick around for Jean and Thomas’ fight? It’s going to be good.”

            “Not tonight. I have to take Levi back to the diner. We left his car parked there.”

            I instantly felt bad for inconveniencing him. “I could walk there,” I said in a rush. “Really. It’s no big deal.”

            Eren put his hand on my head, fingers gliding into my hair. “I brought you, so I’m taking you back.”

            “If you’re worried what Izzy will say, I’ll tell her—”

            I wasn’t given a chance to finish, because Eren brought his hand down to take hold of my chin. He tilted my head back. “Who said anything about Isabel? _I’m_ not okay with you walking to the diner alone. I’m driving you back.”

            I swallowed several times. “O-okay.”

            “How sweet,” Connie said in an overly soft voice. “Eren isn’t like that with any of us. He’d make us walk our asses home before letting us on his precious motorcycle.”

            Eren didn’t argue with him, just handed me the money. “Ready to go?”

            “Yes,” I said, putting the money in my messenger bag. I turned to Connie. “It was nice meeting you.”

            “Same here. Come to the next match, yeah?”

           “I’ll try.”

            Eren carted me off after that and I quickly said goodbye to the other guys. Then we were heading up the stairs. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Connie had said. Why wouldn’t Eren offer a ride to any of the other guys? Was it because he knew they could defend themselves if anyone were to hassle them? That was probably it. I didn’t exactly come off as “tough material.” He was just trying to keep me safe, nothing beyond that.

            “Oh, your shirt,” I broke in. I dug it out of my bag. When I had it hand, I held it out to him. “Here you go.”

            Eren stopped mid-stride. “So,” he said as he took his top, “how long will that money hold you up?”

            “Oh, um, for a couple weeks.” Realizing how that sounded, I hurriedly added, “But that’s fine! I have several interviews lined up, so hopefully I’ll land myself a job soon.”

            “The reason I asked is because my friend owns a nightclub and she’s hiring right now. If you’re interested, I’ll put in a good word for you. The pay is good.”

            I don’t know what Eren saw when he looked at me, but I definitely didn’t look like someone who would work at a nightclub. I looked like a guy you’d find cataloging books at your local library, which I would do with pleasure, because books were my thing.

            “A nightclub?” I asked dubiously.

            Eren leaned up against the wall, just staring at me. “How do you feel about tonight?”

            “Huh?” I blurted out. What was he talking about? Tonight was completely unexpected. When I left my house to meet him at the diner, I had no idea that I’d wind up watching an illegal underground fight.

            “Did it bore you? Watching the fight?”

            “No, not at all. You’re—you’re something else.”

            He smiled, a real, happy smile that made me realize just how gorgeous he was. “So you had fun stepping out of your comfort zone?”

            Oh, so that was what he was getting at. He wanted me to see that stepping out of my comfort zone could result in me experiencing new things and finding out that I liked them. I couldn’t deny that, but this was one night. If I applied for a job at a nightclub, that could last for months. What if I didn’t like it? Would quitting let him down? Since he would put in a good word for me?

            Before I could respond, he said, “Have you ever seen the drawing of two circles, one is small and one is large? The smaller being your comfort zone, and the larger being where all the magic happens.” Silence ensued as I thought over what he’d just said.

            Did tonight present me with any magic?

            I looked up at him. Even in this terrible lighting, I could see the difference between his eyes. Magic, huh? Maybe after meeting him, I could become a believer.

            “Think about it,” he told me. With that, he resumed climbing the steps.

            Once we made it outside, I noticed how tired I was. I wanted to curl up in bed with a good book and read until I clonked out. I’d have to call Izzy before then, to let her know how everything went, and also to give her shit for getting me involved in something illegal. Nothing happened, but that didn’t mean that something couldn’t have happened. She knew better than to throw me under the bus like this. Then again, I’d made enough money to pay my rent, so there was that. I also met her incredibly hot older brother, but that was beside the point.

            I yawned as we got to Eren’s motorcycle, facing him with bleary eyes. “Thank you,” I said, pushing my glasses up to rub at them. “I don’t deserve the amount you paid me for tonight, but I’m grateful.”

            “You’re tired.”

            “You could at least say, ‘You’re welcome.’” Being sleepy always made me grumpy.

            He cracked a smile. “You’re welcome. I’m following you home.”

            “Excuse me?” I squeaked.

            Removing my glasses, he said, “You look like you’re about to pass out. I want to make sure you get home safe, so I’ll follow you to your apartment.”

            This side of him caught me off guard. I mean he just took down someone who was twice his size with minimal effort. I didn’t think he would be such a gentleman, but I had to admit that it turned me on. _He_ turned me on—a lot. I knew that it was absolutely pointless to deny it, because not only did he have the bad boy appeal, but he was also sweet and considerate. The combination killed me.

            Even when I’d just met him tonight, it felt like I was already in too deep to escape.

 

I’d never been so nervous pulling into my apartment complex before. Of course I’d never had Eren following me here, the rumble of his motorcycle a constant reminder of just how close he was. I worked up the nerve to peek at him in the rearview mirror as I parked in my assigned spot. He looked dangerous and toxic, a storm that I was doing nothing to avoid. Was there even a way to avoid someone like him? I didn’t think so.

            I turned the key in the ignition, the engine cutting off and crackling as it cooled down. My nerves were shot, at this point, and I tried to prepare myself for facing him again by staying in my car for a few extra minutes, but he had different plans. I was given all of ten seconds before he was pulling the driver’s side door open for me, standing there with the sleeves of his shirt pushed up to reveal his toned arms and a part of his inky black tattoo. I glanced down at my feet and attempted—that being the key word here—to gather myself. When I was more or less calm, I stepped out, but he didn’t move back to give me room. I wasn’t expecting that.

            “Whoa there,” Eren said, catching me by the arm when I stumbled back to stop myself from rubbing against his front. “Are you always this clumsy?”

            I tried not to let that sting. “Not usually,” I said, defensive.

            “Oh? So it’s me that’s making you this way?” His voice had dropped an octave, growing deep and husky and utterly irresistible. My body responded to it without my permission, my skin tingling.

            “N-no! That’s not what I meant!” Why was I shouting?

            Eren laughed, removing his hand from my arm to dig out my glasses from my messenger back. Slipping his fingers beneath my chin, he tilted my head back, giving me an amazing view of his face. That’s when I saw the cut above his eyebrow. It was still bleeding. “Is that so?” he asked while he slid my glasses into place.

            “Does that hurt?” I gestured to the cut.

            “No.”

            I scoffed. “Okay, I know you’re some tough guy, but that has to hurt.”

            “I’ve had worse,” he said.

            “I have no doubt about that, but that’s going to get infected. You were sweating and you had your helmet on… Just come up to my apartment. I’ll clean it up for you.” As soon as my brain caught up to my mouth, I froze. Did I just invite him up to my apartment? “Wait! Don’t get the wrong idea!”

            He bit down on his bottom lip, grinning. “Do you always shout when you’re nervous?”

            “No!”

            The grin turned into a stunning smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t touch you.” He turned and started walking. I slumped forward, disappointed despite myself. When I didn’t follow, he turned to look at me over his shoulder and added, in a voice oozing sex, “Unless you want me to.”

            My eyes popped open. This was too new for me. I hadn’t been in a relationship in a long while, and even then, I never did anything risky. I did everything by the book: went out on dates, held hands, kissed, and only then did I ever let anyone touch me. I was too self-conscious to do things any other way. The thought of someone seeing me naked, someone who didn’t know me and would judge me based on what they saw and nothing else, terrified me. I had no desire to be wild, to throw caution into the wind and dive into things headfirst. That wasn’t me, yet—yet the thought of Eren’s hands on me made me ache.

            “LEVI!”

            I turned my head toward the all too familiar voice at the same time Eren did. Isabel was running up to us, carrying an armful of brown paper bags that had grease stains on the bottom. I knew right away that it was comfort food. Isabel knew me too well, and I was grateful for that, because it was exactly what I needed right now.

            Before she could reach us, Eren came up to me. He held out his hand. “Give me your phone,” he demanded.

            I glanced up at him. “What?”

            “I’m going to program Mikasa’s number into your phone,” he explained. “She’s the owner of the nightclub that’s hiring.”

            “Oh, right.” I fumbled with the flap of my bag. Once I had it open, I pulled out my phone.

            It was as I was handing it to him that Isabel made it over to us, practically slamming into me. “I brought food!” she exclaimed as though it weren’t obvious. “I figured you’d need it after spending a night with Eren.”

            Eren snorted and she stuck her tongue out at him. Yeah, they were definitely siblings.

            “Why do you have Levi’s phone?” she asked when she noticed him holding it, trying to snatch it from him with her free hand, but he had quick reflexes.

            “None of your business,” he replied.

            “It is my business. He’s my best friend and I won’t have you corrupting him.”

            Eren smirked, his eyes finding mine. “I’m not corrupting you, right Levi?”

            “No,” I said too fast. “At least I don’t think you are.”

            He gave no response to that, simply held my phone out to me. After I took it, my fingers trembling all the while, he said, “I need to take off, make sure the boys’ get their asses out of the warehouse on time.”

            “But your cut…”

            “I’ll be fine.”

            “He heals fast,” Isabel inputted, smacking him away. “Now go on. Levi and I need to talk and you’re not invited.”

            Eren took several steps back, his eyes never once leaving mine. I expected him to say something, but after another step, he turned around without a word. I watched him get onto his motorcycle, more disappointed than I should be. It shouldn’t have mattered, I’d only met him tonight, but it did. God, it really did.

            “Come on,” Isabel said, grabbing onto my arm and tugging on me. I let her drag me, too stunned to do much else.

            Stepping onto the sidewalk, my phone buzzed in my hand, the screen lighting up. I’d received a text message from a number I didn’t know. I clicked it open and read: **Did you really think I would leave without saying goodbye?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://warriorflesh.tumblr.com/)   
>  Instagram


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've already received fan art for this fic, which is surprising as hell, but not unwelcomed (of course). You can see it [here.](https://instagram.com/p/BBlPt3ALo9K/)

I was on my fourth spring roll when Isabel decided that she’d had enough of my silence for one night. Abandoning her place on the couch, she came and joined me by the fireplace, knocking her knee against mine in hopes of striking up conversation. I fiddled with my drink and ignored her for the time being. I wasn’t ready to confess that her older brother was a manifestation of my dreams, or that I couldn’t stop thinking about how he’d given me his number on the sly. I wasn’t even ready to admit these feelings to myself, writing it off as a rush of adrenaline and nothing more, something that would be gone morning come.

            “Something isn’t right,” noted Izzy when I stayed quiet. “You should be yelling at me right now.”

            That was true enough. If I weren’t a ball of jumbled nerves, I would be chastising her for getting me involved in something illegal, but the more I thought about everything that happened, the more I realized that I didn’t regret any of it. If that wasn’t a warning sign that something was wrong with me, then I didn’t know what was. I broke the law. I earned money by watching two guys fight. I rode on the back of a motorcycle with a complete stranger and enjoyed it. I normally freaked out when I went five miles over the speed limit, so why was I okay with this?

            “I think I’m sick,” I said, matter-of-fact. There was no other explanation for this.

            Isabel’s eyes widened. “Was it the food? Do you need some water?”

            I shook my head. What I needed was to stop thinking about Eren, but I couldn’t go five seconds without picturing that sexy smile of his that sent my heart into overdrive. What was I even doing? He was way out of my league. He was the type of person that leaped without looking while I lingered back and contemplated the jump at every angle. We might as well live on two separate planets. He’d never want someone like me and usually I’d never want someone like him, but... I wanted him. I wanted him so badly that it physically hurt.

            And I just met him.

            I was so screwed.

            “I fucked up, didn’t I?” Isabel said, taking the plate I held and putting it off to the side. She was taking my silence as a bad sign. She couldn’t know that I had a raging battle going on inside my head. “I shouldn’t have set you up like that. I knew you wouldn’t like it, but Eren told me that it was safe, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

            Eren _hadn’t_ let anything happen to me, even going as far as to follow me home to make sure I got here in one piece. He kept his word, so I had to say something before Isabel thought the worst. Her relationship with him for the past couple of years had been a rocky one. I didn’t need to make it any worse.

            “Nothing bad happened while I was with him,” I reassured her. “I’m just a little overwhelmed right now. A lot went on.” More like I was suffering from a heart wrenching syndrome named Eren Jaeger.

            “Overwhelmed? How?” Now that she knew that I was more or less okay, curiosity settled in and lit up her face. “So the rumors are true then? I heard all kinds of stories about Eren’s fighting, but he’ll never let me watch him. Was he as good as people say he is?”

            “Good? He was amazing,” I said in a breathless way, unable to keep the awe from my voice. Nothing could mask it.

            “Really? So he won?”

            I smiled, feeling proud of him. “Yeah, without even trying. The guy he went up against was twice his size too.”

            “Wow. So my big bro really is a badass.”

            “Total badass,” I agreed.

            Suddenly Isabel narrowed her eyes in suspicion, gazing at me as if she smelt something funny in the air. Then she said, in a too calm voice, “You like him.”

            “ _What?_ No! Absolutely not!”

            She got to her feet. “When I told you about him getting into fights a couple weeks ago, you called him irresponsible and reckless. Now you’re calling him a total badass for winning an underground fight? That doesn’t add up. You either like him or you think he’s hot.”

            “You’re wrong on both accounts,” I sputtered out. “I don’t even know him. You’re jumping to conclusions.” I stood up, feeling jittery once I was upright. “You know what? I’m not having this conversation with you right now. I had a long night and I’m tired.”

            Isabel put her hands on her hips. “I’m not a moron, Levi. I know how attractive my brother is. I just never thought that _you_ would find him appealing. You’re more into the clean cut kind, not guys who play dirty just for the thrill of it.”

            “For the last time: I don’t think of him that way,” I insisted, picking up my plate. I walked into the kitchenette, ready to ignore her until she dropped the subject.

            While I immersed myself in the task of washing dishes, she came to stand next to me. She said nothing to break the silence and I was grateful. That is until she let out a drawn out sigh. “Listen, I’m going to tell you this now: Eren is trouble. He’s always lived his life on the edge and surrounds himself with people who do the same. I just don’t want you getting hurt, okay?”

            “I won’t, because I don’t like him. And even if I did, you act like he’d be interested in someone like me.” I tried to ignore the way those last words left a foul taste in the back of my mouth. It was the truth, wasn’t it? I wasn’t anything special, not like the people back in that warehouse. They reveled in breaking the law, in living life to its fullest, while I sat back and cowered at the thought of it. Eren and I just weren’t cut from the same cloth. We weren’t compatible.

            “You’re scrubbing that plate awfully hard,” Isabel commented. I immediately stilled my hand and noticed that it was shaking. What was wrong with me? “Here, let me do it.” She held out her hand and I passed her the sponge. I was useless at this point, anyway.

            After a few minutes of watching her, I said, “I’m going to take a shower before bed. Are you staying the night?”

            She shook her head. “Nope, I’m meeting Farlan in half an hour. We’re going to some party that his coworker decided to throw at the last minute. I was going to invite you, but you look dead on your feet.”

            “I feel dead.”

            “Go take your shower then. I’ll be out of your hair in a bit.” She waved me off and I couldn’t even protest, because I wanted tonight to be over. I wanted to sleep and forget about the dual colored eyes of a man that had gotten under my skin in less than twenty-four hours.

 

\---

 

            The next day was one of the longest days of my life, and it wasn’t even over yet. From the moment I woke up, I couldn’t focus on anything, constantly reaching for my phone and rereading the text message Eren had sent me the night before; a text message I hadn’t replied to. I knew that if I did, he’d pull me into a web that I wouldn’t be able to untangle myself from, so it was best to get on with my life and forget all about him—the sooner the better, as a matter of fact. There was no point in lingering on someone that I would never see again.

            So why couldn’t I stop thinking about him?

            Grabbing my phone for the umpteenth time today, I scrolled through my contacts list. Eren’s name caught my attention as it flashed by, almost too tempting to ignore, but that’s exactly what I did. I kept scrolling until I came across another name that hadn’t been there long enough to become familiar. Mikasa. That was the club owner, the one who was hiring. I didn’t know why I had the sudden urge to call her, but more than that, I didn’t know why I actually did.

            Once I hit the CALL button, I pressed the phone to my ear and waited.

            “Who the hell is this?” a woman demanded upon picking up, her voice as sharp as a whip cracking against skin.

            Even though she wasn’t in the room with me, I flinched at her tone, stuttering out, “U-um, this is Levi Ackerman. I’m calling because I heard you were hiring.” The other end went quiet and stayed that way long enough to have me wondering if Eren had given me this number as some sort of practical joke. “I’m sorry,” I said in a rush after another minute passed by in uncomfortable silence, wanting to end this conversation as soon as possible. “I must have the wrong number.”

            “You don’t,” the woman, whom I assumed was Mikasa, clarified. “I know who you are.”

            “Oh.” I didn’t know how else to respond to that. Eren had told her about me.

            “Let’s cut to the chase, because I don’t have time to chitchat. Can you come in tonight for an interview?”

            I hadn’t been expecting her to ask me to come by the club tonight. It forced me to see that I had no idea what I was doing. Why had I called her in the first place? When Eren told me about the job, I had no intention of pursuing it. Working at a nightclub had never once crossed my mind. It was a job for a person with another life, yet I found my curiosity spurring me on.

            “Yes, I can come in,” I said, both excitement and fear settling in the pit of my gut at the exact same time. What was I getting myself into? I didn’t even know what position she was hiring for.

            “Good. Be here at nine. When you get here, ask the bouncer out front to escort you to my office. Oh, and don’t be late.” She hung up straight after that, her command ringing in my ears. I pulled the phone away and stared at it for a fraction of a second before I hauled ass into my bedroom. What was I supposed to wear? I’d never even been to a club before. I was sure formal wear wouldn’t cut it. Maybe something casual would be more acceptable, or was I supposed to dress a little riskier? I didn’t even own anything that would be considered risky.

            Shit.

            When I was in my room, I stripped as fast as humanly possible. Then I dialed Isabel’s number. She’d know what I could wear.

            She answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

            “I need help,” I said.

            “What’s wrong? Should I come over?”

            “No. I just… What would you wear if you were being interviewed for a job at a nightclub?”

            She stayed quiet for a minute, and then said, “Levi, what the fuck?”

            I sighed. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to avoid giving her the minor details. There was no point in beating around the bush now. “I might be going to an interview for a job at a nightclub.”

            “Let me guess: Eren has something to do with this?”

            I knew Isabel well enough to hear the disapproval in her voice. I tried not to let it affect my decision, but I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened between her and Eren to cause this strain in their relationship. She hardly brought him up in conversation, and when she did, it always made her upset to the point that she quickly changed the subject.

            “Yes,” I admitted, wanting to erase the awkward silence that had settled between us. “Should I not go?”

            “That depends. Are you doing this because you’re stressing over the bills that you need to pay and you feel backed into a corner? Or are you actually interested in this job?”

            Oh, I was interested. For the first time in my life, I wanted to put myself out there. I’d always stuck to my comfort zone like it was my religion, doing things that came easy to me and kept me hidden from the world. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fit back inside the box I’d created for myself long ago, because last night I had experienced the smallest of tastes of the magic Eren was referring to and now I was hooked.

            Or maybe it was him I was hooked on. I couldn’t tell anymore.

            “I’m interested in this job,” I told her.

            Isabel let out a long sigh, like she’d been expecting that answer all along. “Fine. Wear a plain white T-shirt and your black blazer over that. As for bottoms, wear dark jeans.”

            That didn’t sound too bad, although I’d feel out of place regardless of my attire. “What about shoes?”

            “Dress shoes will work fine.”

            “Okay. I got it.”

            “Levi,” Izzy started, my name leaving her mouth on a tremble, “be careful, all right? Don’t do something you’ll regret. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll be there in five minutes flat, along with Farlan and everyone else in my goddamn phone book, if that’s what you need.”

            I smiled, because I already knew that much. Whenever I needed her, she was only a phone call away. “Thank you. I’ll be fine, though. Seriously, don’t worry about me. I’ll call you once I’m through with the interview.”

            “You better.”

            “I will. I promise. But I have to go now. I’m running on limited time and you know how I hate to be late.” Punctual should’ve been my middle name.

            “Okay, okay. I’ll let you go. Good luck.”

            I hung up after I said goodbye, and then scrambled over to my closet, not knowing why I was in such a hurry to get to the club. I was rushing into this head first, which wasn’t like me at all. Normally I would want a couple of days to prepare for the interview, to get everything I would need together, but right now I couldn’t care less about any of that stuff. I never knew how much I needed to experience something outside of the norm until I had.

            For some reason, I wanted to call Eren, to tell him that I was taking him up on his offer that I’m sure he thought I would refuse. I wanted to know what he would think of me now, but I was assuming that he actually cared. He didn’t. I wasn’t anything to him, not even his friend. He had helped me out of a tight spot as a favor to his little sister. That was painfully obvious from the get-go. So there was really no reason for me to call him up. If I got the job, then maybe I’d give him a call.

            Maybe.

 

Fifteen minutes before nine, I arrived at the club, grateful that Eren had programmed the address into my phone. I circled the parking lot for the third time in a row, desperate to find an empty spot, but everywhere I looked there were cars and people. Anxiety, demanding and unwanted, began to boil up inside of me and I hoped that I could keep it at bay long enough to park. I couldn’t go home now, not after I came this far.

            After another try with no luck at spotting a space, I decided to park on the street in order to make it inside on time. I got out of the car as soon as I killed the engine, determined to get inside before my anxiety could settle in and convince me not to do this. I walked up the sidewalk that would lead me to the front entrance of the club and found a long line waiting for me there. Mikasa said to tell the bouncer up front to escort me to her office, but could I just cut in front of all these people?

            I took a deep breath and began to pass everyone. Some people gave me questioning stares, while others outright glared at me, but I kept going until I reached the front of the line. I sighed in relief, feeling accomplished, then I saw Eren and I forgot how to breathe. He was standing behind the stanchions, wearing a black T-shirt with the word SECURITY going across the front. It dawned on me then that Eren was the bouncer I was looking for.

            _He works here! What the hell?_

            “Levi,” he said when he noticed me standing there.

            My eyes snapped up and I saw that he was donning that irresistible crooked smile that was far too perfect. I swallowed several times, but it was useless. I wasn’t capable of talking, not when I could remember how his body looked under that shirt. But even as I thought that, my eyes were on his and nothing else. He had such beautiful eyes, so vivid and striking. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of looking at them.

            While my brain was out of order, he had lifted the velvet rope, holding it to the side so I could pass. For a beat, I did nothing but stare, then I quickly hurried forward and almost ran right into him. I was about to apologize, but then he chuckled, low and sexy, as though he were laughing just for me.

            “Still clumsy, I see,” he purred into my ear. A shiver ran down my spine in response, spreading throughout my body like wildfire.

            “I’m really sorry. I—”

            “Don’t apologize,” he said, cutting me off. “I don’t mind it.” Then, to someone behind him, “Jean, take over for me.”

            A man with ash-brown hair came sauntering up to us, a lazy grin on his face. This must’ve been Jean. “Yeah, I know, asshat. Mikasa already told me.”

            “Then quit taking your sweet ass time.” Eren turned around and took me by the wrist. “Come on. Mikasa will chew me out if you’re late.” With a firm hold on me, he led me through the double doors and into the club. Almost immediately, I was hit with the smell of sweat, leather, and alcohol. I was glad that Eren was holding onto me; otherwise I would’ve bolted. “What do you think?” he asked as we made our way through a pack of people.

            “It’s very…club-y.”

            His head snapped in my direction and he smiled wide. “Club-y?”

            “Um, yes?” I said, making it sound like a question. I didn’t have anything to compare this to. The only clubs I’d seen were in movies or television sitcoms.

            Eren opened his mouth to respond, but then someone bumped into me hard enough to make me stumble back a few feet. It was a large, brawny man that reeked of alcohol. Somehow his beefy hands were on my waist, holding me tight enough to keep me in place. I didn’t know what to do, let alone how this even happened.

            “My bad,” the man rasped, taking a step closer to me.

            Before I could think to panic, the man was on the floor, Eren hovering over him with a murderous expression on his face.

            Had he pushed him? If so, then he did it too quick for my eyes to register the movement.

            “Watch where the fuck you’re going,” Eren snarled, guiding me to his side. The man’s eyes lingered on me like a hungry predator that was ready to attack. Eren must’ve sensed this, because he added, “Try something. Go right ahead.”

            I didn’t want him to get into a fight at his place of work, no matter how much the guy lying on the floor repulsed me. “I-I’m going to be late,” I blurted out, grabbing onto Eren’s arm to lead him in the opposite direction in hopes of getting through to him. “Let’s go.”

            Giving the man one last venomous glare, Eren finally let me tow him away, to my immense relief. Once we put some distance between us and the drunken man, I sighed, glad that we had avoided something ugly. I was so consumed in my respite, that when Eren reached out and put his hand on the small of my back, I gasped.

            “Does this make you uncomfortable?” he asked.

            I quickly shook my head, because I wanted his hand to stay right where it was.

The thump of the music matched the beating of my heart as we continued to make our way towards Mikasa’s office. Why didn’t I have an ounce of control over how my body responded to him? I wanted to tell my brain to stop sending out all these signals at once, because I couldn’t handle it. I wanted to run. I wanted to stay. I wanted to jump him and feel his lips pressed against mine.

            “You never texted me back,” Eren said, pulling me from my chaotic thoughts.

            I looked up at him, mouth agape. “Wait, you _wanted_ me to text you back?”

            “Oh, I want a lot more than that from you, but yes. Why else would I give you my number?”

            All I could do was stare at him, because I was too stunned to respond. He wanted more from me? What exactly did he mean by that?

            My sanity had officially slipped away as he steered me up a dark stairwell that led to a hallway that forced us to move closer to one another. He smelt so good. “You never told me you worked here,” I said in a futile attempt to distract myself from his close proximity. I could feel the warmth emanating off his body. It muddled my thoughts and made me dizzy with desire.

            “I didn’t? It must’ve slipped my mind.” I knew from the teasing lilt in his voice that it didn’t slip his mind at all.

            At the end of the hallway was a black door with a silver nameplate tacked to the front of it. This was Mikasa’s office.

            Eren turned to me then, eyes journeying down my body. “Hmm,” he hummed.

            “What?” I asked, nervous all of a sudden. “Do I look bad?”

            “Quite the contrary. If you end up taking this job, you’re the only thing I’ll be able to look at.” I wasn’t sure what sort of look crossed my face right then, but whatever it was made him reach up and cup my chin. “You look surprised. You shouldn’t be.” He leaned in close; thumb brushing over my lips as he whispered in a voice that made my skin go hot, “You’re all I’ve been thinking about for the last twenty-four hours, so promise me that you’ll consider accepting this job.”

            “B-but I don’t even know what position I’m interviewing for.” I shuddered as his fingertips trailed down the side of my neck, unable to stop my eyes from squeezing shut.

            What was he doing to me?

            “A cage dancer,” he said casually.

            There was only one thing in the world that could have snapped me back into the right frame of mind, and that was it. _“A what?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes, the build up is always my favorite. This is going to be a fun one, because, if you couldn't tell, the sexual tension between these two is unfathomable. Also, sorry for the cliffhanger? Sort of??
> 
> But I don't know if any of you are familiar with the term cage dancer, but it's basically an exotic dancer (no, not a stripper) who dances in a cage above the crowd at a club. *sweats*
> 
> If you'd like to ask me anything regarding this fic, or just want to get to know me a little better, feel free to ask me any questions you may have on my [ASKfm.](https://ask.fm/trisholita)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time! Before you start this, let me direct you to more fan art that I've received for this fic. A big thanks to those that drew these! <3  
> View them [here](http://illopii.tumblr.com/post/139421101456/because-bamferen-is-too-hot-for-the-entire-world) and [here.](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBwB4FQTN-_/)

I was waiting to hear the punch line, because this had to be a joke. There was no way Eren thought that I—the guy who stuttered and tripped on a regular basis—could be a cage dancer. Those types of jobs were reserved for people with confidence, which I clearly didn’t have. I knew there was something fishy about this whole thing, but I refused to listen to my instincts. Now I was left to stand here looking like a fool. It served me right. I should’ve known better than to trust someone I didn’t know.

         Through the anger that was clouding my mind, I managed to stand up straight and look Eren in the eye. If anything, I was going to leave here with my dignity intact. “I’ll show myself out,” I bit out through clenched teeth right before I turned on my heel and stalked back the way we came. My cheeks were hot with embarrassment and my heart was pounding harder than I knew it could, but I kept walking. I didn’t stop until a hand wrapped around my forearm. “Let go of me,” I demanded, snatching my arm back.

         The next thing I knew, I was pressed up against the wall, Eren’s arms caging me in. “Why are you running from this?” he asked, eyes searching mine.

         “Why?” I shouted, no longer able to keep my anger from bubbling to the surface. He was making a clown out of me. “Are you being serious right now? This is a joke. Look at me! Do I look like I could be a cage dancer to you?” I pushed against his arm, desperate to get away, but he didn’t budge. “Get out of my way.”

         Suddenly, without any warning, he cupped my face and forced me to look at him. He held my gaze as he said, “I am looking at you. Do I seem like the type of person that would waste time playing a joke on someone? I told you about this job, because you’re perfect for it.”

         I scoffed. “Oh, come off of it already.”

         “You’re gorgeous,” Eren persisted. “I don’t know what kind of distorted self-image you have, but you’re—God, you’re amazing.”

         Unable to control the way my body responded to him, I went limp in his grasp, my face growing warm for an entirely different reason now. I kept waiting to spot the lie in those breathtaking eyes of his, but all I could see there was undisguised sincerity. Could he be telling me the truth? Did he actually believe that I was perfect for this job? That I was…gorgeous?

         I was treading in dangerous waters and had no idea how long I’d be able to keep myself afloat. Sooner or later, I was bound to sink.

         Suddenly Eren leaned in close, overwhelming my senses when his eyes locked onto mine. He gave me plenty of time to move away, but I couldn’t stir a muscle when his lips made contact with my ear as he spoke the next set of words in a sultry voice that had my knees going weak. “For once in your life stop questioning yourself. Don’t you want to give in?”

         “I-it’s not that easy,” I said, breath rushing out of me as his lips traveled down to my jaw. Without knowing how, or when, I’d reached up and grasped onto his shoulders, nails biting into his T-shirt hard enough to draw a ragged breath from him that sent a shock through my spine. How could such a simple sound turn me on so much?

         “But it is.”

         Through the thick haze of lust that he’d created, I heard someone clear their throat several times. “I hate to interrupt this heated session of yours, but you’re late.” That voice snapped me to attention when nothing else could. I’d heard it on the phone, but it was sharper in person. That could only mean…

         Realizing that Mikasa had ventured out of her office to find Eren and I tangled together in the middle of the hall, I attempted to push him away, but I couldn’t even manage that. I was too feeble from his earlier ministrations. My knees had resigned from their position of keeping me upright, which left me a sagging mess. It amazed me that he was capable of rendering me useless with little to no effort. He was dangerous in every possible way, yet I found myself craving more of him.

         “I never thought I’d see that,” Mikasa said, giving Eren a questioning stare. She looked as intimidating as her voice implied she’d be. Sharp features framed by onyx hair that matched the intensity of her dark eyes, which were lingering on the man that was driving me crazy. “You never let anyone come near you.”

         Instead of responding, Eren slipped his hand into his back pocket to retrieve his pack of cigarettes. He tapped one out and slid it in between his lips. To my surprise, she seemed pleased with this, like he’d just confirmed something.

         “So that’s how it is.” Mikasa shook her head with a small grin and then turned her eyes on me. She gave me a once over as she said, “From what I overhead from your little discussion with Eren, you didn’t know that I was hiring for a cage dancer. Are you still interested in being interviewed? That’s the only position available.”

         If I wanted to leave, now was the time to do it. That would be the safest option for me to take, to admit defeat and scurry back to the cramped box that was my comfort zone. The other option, the one that was nothing more than a gamble, was to sit through the interview in spite of knowing what job I would get if I impressed Mikasa. I never imagined myself as a cage dancer, nor did I think that type of job would ever be available to someone like me. Yet, if I walked away now, what would I accomplish? I would end up letting fear dominate my actions. Nothing would change. My life would go back to being predictable and boring unless I took a chance.

         Taking a deep breath, I said, “I’m still interested.”

         Mikasa turned around and looked at me over her shoulder. “In that case, come into my office.” Without waiting for a reply, she started walking, her slender frame blending into the darkness. I stared after her before my brain jump-started and propelled me forward. Of course, with my legs being JELL-O, I tripped.

         “I have you.” Eren once again had caught me, easing me up until I was steady on my own two feet. How embarrassing. This was, what, the hundredth time I’d tripped in front of him?

         “Thank you,” I said in a small voice. I couldn’t meet his eyes, not after what had happened earlier. The word _gorgeous_ kept bouncing around in my head, even when I told myself that he couldn’t have meant it in a flirtatious way. Just because he thought I was right for this job, didn’t mean he wanted me like that. With how he looked, he wasn’t lacking in that area. So, why was he toying with me?

         “What is going on in that head of yours?” Eren pressed his index finger between my eyebrows. I relaxed them under his touch. “Hey”—he slid his fingers beneath my chin, coaxing my head back until my eyes were on his—“talk to me.”

         I swallowed. It was better to get the truth out of him now, even if I didn’t want to hear it. “I just—you—why are you flirting with me? Is this your way of persuading me to take this job? Is it because you want to help me for Isabel’s sake? Listen, I can get by on my own. I don’t need any help.” That wasn’t a lie. I could manage on my own just fine.

         “Do you really think that little of me? Or could it be that you have low self esteem?” My entire face became scorching hot and all I could do was stare up at him with a dumbfounded expression. Noticing this, he added, “Hit the nail on the head, did I?” Then his lips were at my ear again. “You’re insane. I don’t flirt for the hell of it. If anything, I keep away from that, but I can’t seem to control myself when it comes to you and that’s a first.”

         This was too much too fast. I needed to step back and evaluate the situation, but I couldn’t do that when he was this close to me. I couldn’t do _anything_ when he was this close, his heady scent making my head fuzzy. Luckily for me, I was saved when Mikasa rapped her hand against the doorframe of her office. “You’re pushing your luck!” she called out.

         Eren laughed. “Come on. I’ll get shit for this later.”

         “I’m sorry.”

         “Don’t be,” he said. “I’m the one that can’t keep away from you.” As if to prove his point further, he put his hand on the small of my back.

         I couldn’t tell whether he was actually interested in me, or he liked stringing people around. I didn’t have a lot of experience in this field, and even if I did, I didn’t know him. There were a lot of things working against me on this, but somehow that didn’t stop me from wanting him. If anything, it made me want him more.

         When we made it to Mikasa’s office, I hesitated at the doorway. From my vantage point, I could see her sitting behind a massive desk that was just as black as the rest of the room. Her chin was propped up on her laced fingers and she raised an eyebrow when I just stood there twiddling my thumbs.

         “Don’t let her intimidate you,” Eren said from behind me, sensing my uneasiness. “She’s not as bad as she looks.”

         Now both of Mikasa’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s funny coming from you. Normally you’re hard on the people who come in for interviews.”

         “Not this one.” Eren led me forward until we reached a black armchair that was in front of Mikasa’s desk. He gestured to it and I immediately sat down, relieved that I no longer needed to be on my feet. My legs were dysfunctional accessories, as of right now.

         “Well, let’s get this started then,” Mikasa intoned. “Seeing as you come highly recommended by my best friend and the head of security, you basically have this job in the bag, Mr. Ackerman. Assuming you want it, that is. Judging from your lack of knowledge on the position I was hiring for, I can guess you have no prior experience as a dancer.”

         Eren put his cigarette out in an ashtray on her desk. “He doesn’t need experience.”

         Mikasa eyed him. “I wasn’t aware I was talking to you. Put your claws away and let me speak with Levi.”

         Before they could take this any further, I said, “Um, I don’t have any prior experience, but I’m a fast learner.”

         “I’m counting on that. Our head dancer, Armin Arlert, can have you trained in a month. Trust me, he may look like a softy, but he’ll whip you into shape real quick. Speaking of which, do you mind standing up for me?”

         “Uh, okay.” I stood up, trying to appear confident, but my glasses were sliding down the bridge of my nose, so I had to push them up. Image ruined.

         Mikasa curled her finger. “Lift your shirt.”

         My mouth dropped open before I could stop it. I was reduced to a flushing, stumbling mess as I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it up above my chest. I averted my gaze as she scrutinized my torso, but regretted it instantly, because I caught sight of Eren, who was staring at my midriff with an expression I couldn’t even begin to understand. I had to resist the urge to cover myself up.

         “Hmm,” Mikasa hummed, “you have the perfect type of body for this.”

         I quickly put my shirt down. “So, that’s it? I don’t have to show you my resume or anything?”

         “No. You’ll have to come in tomorrow and bring your social security card and birth certificate with you, but other than that, you’re free to start tonight. Don’t get me wrong, I’m usually not this easy to convince, but Eren has never recommended anyone before. Let’s just say I’m curious about you.”

         I wasn’t sure if that was something to be proud of. I still couldn’t figure out why Eren had recommended me in the first place. For all he knew, I could blow this. Not that that was what I was going to strive for. Any training I had with Armin would be taken seriously, but that didn’t mean that I was cut out to be a dancer. Only time would tell how I’d fare in this job.

         “Thank you for taking a chance on me,” I said, leaning forward to offer her my hand. She shook it. “You mentioned something about me starting tonight?”

         Mikasa nodded as she rose to her feet. “Yes. Armin will be up in the cage soon. I want you to see him for yourself, see what you’re in for. Before then, I’d like Eren to show you around and introduce you to anyone working tonight. Every employee of mine is a close friend, so I want you to become familiar with them.”

         “Of course.”

         She turned to Eren. “Give him a tour, but keep your hands to yourself while you’re on the clock. I don’t need my customers seeing you dry humping someone in the hallway.” I made a noise in the back of my throat that sounded like I had inhaled a large piece of food. Eren grinned as he came to stand by me. “Do that on your own time,” she added with a smirk, and then she was out of her office, leaving us to stare after her once again.

         “Ignore her. I wouldn’t dry hump you in the hallway. We have private rooms for that.”

         “ _What?_ Um—I—” I couldn’t even figure out how to finish, having to hide my face in order to keep him from seeing just how hard I was blushing from that statement.    

         He smiled. “Ah, fuck, you’re too cute. Let’s get out of here before I make Isabel hate me even more than she already does.” I followed him out into the hallway, hoping that my erratic heartbeat would slow. I’d just met Eren yesterday, yet he already made my life more eventful. It was addicting, but at the same time, there was something nagging at me. I knew what it was right away. Isabel. There was conflict between the two of them, but how bad was it?

         “We’ll start at the bar,” Eren told me, oblivious to what was going through my mind. “Marco is working tonight. I have a feeling you and him will get along great.”

         Once we reached the main floor, I moved closer to him. There were a lot of people here, dancing and swaying to the music that was loud enough to cause my whole body to vibrate. The dance floor, which was lit up by neon lights, was packed to the brim; people pushing against each other as though they were trying to become one. I couldn’t even imagine being amongst them. Nevertheless, here I was, and I was excited.

         Just behind the dance floor was the bar, which was glowing like the rest of the club. Eren kept a hold on me as we waded through the crowd toward it. As we got to the bar stools, he released my wrist to jump over the bar like it was child’s play. I stared at him, not knowing what to do. There was no way I could clear that without making a fool out of myself.

         “Come on!” he shouted to be heard over the music. I had barely taken one step when he leaned over the bar and picked me up. Caught off guard, I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. “Well,” he said into my ear once both of us were behind the bar.

         “I’m so sorry!” I shrieked, beyond embarrassed by what I'd done. I tried to get down, but he held on. “C-could you please put me down?”

         He set me on my feet. “That felt nice.”

         “Excuse me?”

         “Having your legs wrapped around me. It felt nice.”

         “Eren!” someone yelled, sparing me from becoming a stuttering catastrophe. I turned toward the voice to see a man approaching us with a smile on his face. He had short black hair that was parted in the middle, and freckles that lit up his features.

         “Marco. You’re just the man I wanted to see.” Eren put his arm around my shoulders. “This is our new cage dancer, Levi.”

         I held my hand out. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

         Just as Marco went to shake my hand, another worker passed by us and his fingers caught the top of a shot glass. It flew off the tray and the contents splattered all over my shirt. “Shit!” Marco hissed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even see him coming. Here, come into the backroom. I’ll get you something to dry off with.”

         “That’s tequila, Marco,” Eren said. “He needs another shirt.” I was about to tell him I’d be fine in the one I was in, but then he took hold of the bottom of his work shirt and pulled it over his head, exposing his long, toned torso that killed me on the spot. What was air again? “Here. Wear this.”

         I took the shirt he offered me. “What about you?” It was a miracle that I could speak at all.

         “I have another one in my locker. Do you want to change in the back?”

         As soon as I nodded, he directed me forward, telling Marco that we’d be back. I made sure to steer clear of anyone holding trays. My shirt was plastered to my chest and stomach. It was uncomfortable, but a part of me was glad that the accident happened, because now I would get to wear Eren’s shirt. Plus, he was topless and standing awfully close to me.

         We rounded the corner and Eren pushed open a narrow door that led to a small room that smelt of burnt food. I followed him inside and was instantly aware that we were the only ones in here, and that I would be taking off my shirt. I was about to ask him if he could wait for me outside when the music stopped and a voice amplified by a microphone announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re about to bring out tonight’s entertainment.”

         “They mean Armin,” Eren said. “You better hurry. Mikasa doesn’t want you to miss this.”

         I turned my back to him and shook my blazer off my shoulders. I could feel his eyes on me as I set it on the table in the center of the room, but I kept mine glued to the floor. It was easier for me that way, even when I wanted to disappear the moment my shirt was off. I quickly slipped Eren’s on, content with how it smelled of him.

         When I faced him again, Eren asked, “Ready to go?”

         I nodded, because I was more than ready. "Yeah, let's go."

        

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has commented and left me kudos. <3  
> [Tumblr](http://warriorflesh.tumblr.com/)  
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/levi.eren_/)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!  
> So, if you've been a fan of ereri for a while, then you've probably heard of the artist Lena. But just in case you haven't, then please look at [this](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CbJ2yjRUEAAyUYj.jpg:large) and [this](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ca8GOLxUUAAo_WE.png:large) . That's how I picture my Eren and Levi in this fic. Levi being a little more feminine, but still so attractive that you want to fall to your knees and beg for a moment of his time. Lena's work is _amazing_. I can never get enough of it. But, enough of that, go on and read. :)

“Ignore them.”

            Even as Eren said the words, I couldn’t help but notice the attention I was receiving for walking around in his work shirt. Everyone we passed on our way out of the bar stared at the fabric for a long moment before they turned their attention to Eren’s bare chest. Judging from the understanding that crossed their faces, they had put two and two together. Part of me wanted to explain the reasoning behind my get up, but the rest of me wanted to keep that information to myself. Having his shirt on filled my chest with an undeniable warmth that I had no hope of ignoring, even when I knew that the only reason he’d offered it to me was because mine was covered in tequila. Despite that, I found myself smiling. For tonight, at least, I could pretend that I was wearing it for a completely different reason.

            “Does it bother you? Wearing my shirt?” Eren asked as we made our way through a dense crowd that had gathered around a stage that was nestled in the center of the dance floor. I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but I couldn’t even focus on it now, not when he sounded worried. It went against everything I knew about him, which was that he was the epitome of confidence. It surprised me that I could pull such a reaction from him.

            “No, it doesn’t bother me at all,” I replied with a small smile. Without knowing why, I added, “I like wearing your shirt.” It was the truth, but I couldn’t believe that I admitted it aloud, and to him of all people.

            Before I could even think to feel embarrassed though, he faltered, his smooth stride turning rigid and awkward for a number of minutes. At last, he recovered and said, “That’s good,” in a strained voice that caused my stomach to flip flop like a fish out of water.

            I was relieved when we reached the stage, but the feeling didn’t last long, because Eren moved behind me and placed his hands on either side of my waist. The palms of his hands were hot against my skin as his shirt rode up on stomach. I swallowed convulsively, but no words came to mind. My brain was a riddle I couldn’t begin to decipher. All it gave me was the desire to feel his hands on every part of my body.

            “People can get pretty crazy when Armin comes out,” Eren explained, his hands leaving my waist to grab onto the front of the stage. The absence made my heart plummet. “Trust me, you’d be getting groped, or worse. Hence the reason why I’m locking you in.”

            “Um.” I let out a breath that caught in my throat as I reached up with shaky hands to take hold of his wrists. I had no idea what I was doing, but when I put his hands back on my waist, he didn’t protest. “I think I’ll be safer this way.”

            He tilted his head to the side to look at me, an unbelievably sexy smirk lifting the corner of his mouth. “You think so? What about this then?” He wrapped his arms around my stomach, his fingertips grazing over my hipbones. I shuddered under his touch, wanting so much more.

            “T-that’s definitely better.” I was about to die.

            “Oh? How about going out on a date with me?”

            Any response I had would have to wait, because the neon lights dimmed and the music switched over to a song that sounded far too sexual. The slow beat alerted the crowd that Armin was on his way out and everyone began to chant his name. I focused my eyes on the stage just as a slender man came sauntering out from behind a velvet curtain. To say I was shocked from what I saw would be the understatement of the year, because Armin was stuffed into a leather outfit that hurt to look at.

            “Oh, God,” I said.

            Eren chuckled. “What? Can’t see yourself in that?”

            “How would I even fit in it? It’s skin tight.”

            “There are ways.”

            As Armin approached the center of the stage, a metal cage descended from the roof. When he reached it, he grabbed onto the bars, swaying his hips in a way that demanded your immediate attention. He teased the crowd with an innocent smile and opened the cage door with his boot-cladded foot—with his foot! I was so enthralled by his performance that I didn’t even notice that there were other, smaller cages being lowered.

            “Look,” Eren said, pointing to other dancers making their way onto the stage. They were all women in outfits similar to Armin’s. “Armin is the only male dancer, so we get quite a bit of men coming in to see him. Club Rose is the one nightclub in this city that offers this kind of entertainment.”

            Even from where I stood, I could make out the vivid blue of Armin’s eyes as his gaze swept over the sea of people occupying the dance floor. He worked the crowd like he owned everyone in the room, his movements never faltering. I couldn’t even imagine myself asserting that much confidence at once. Especially when he stepped into the cage and began moving to the music in a way that made me self-conscious. The last thing I saw before the cage rose from the stage was him winking as he twirled a strand of blonde hair around his index finger.

            “I can’t do that,” I declared, matter-of-fact.

            “Neither could Armin. Not until Mikasa trained him and whipped him into shape, that is. He was like you when he started this job: very shy and reserved. Now look at him.”

            I turned my head in disbelief to glance up at Eren’s face. “You can’t be serious.”

            “Oh, I am,” he said. “You can do this, Levi. You just have to believe you can.”

            The sound of my name in his throaty voice had me wanting to hop up on the stage right now, but I needed to know something before I even considered going through with this. “What if I don’t want to?”

            “Then you don’t have to. I’m not going to force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. If this job isn’t for you, then that’s that.” He tapped the side of my glasses with a grin on his lips. “I would still want to date you, though.”

            “Why?” I asked, honestly curious about what he saw in me. I was sure that he could get anyone he wanted, so why go after someone like me?  

            The way he looked at me in that instant was enough of an answer for me, but he still replied with, “Because you drive me fucking crazy.”

            Well, that I could understand, because I felt the same way about him.

 

When Armin’s dance was over, he came and joined us at the bar after Jean escorted him through the crowd that was eager to touch him in some way. The moment he reached us, he plopped down in the empty stool beside mine and took off his knee-high boots with a sigh. He offered them up to Marco as though they had offended him for the last time. Marco took them without question and asked, “Need a drink?”

            “An atomic cocktail, please. My feet are killing me.”

            “One for me, as well,” Jean said, taking the seat next to Armin’s.

            “You’re on the clock.”

            Jean grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “So?”

            “You owe me.” Marco turned around to make their drinks. When he was finished with them, he set the two glasses down that harbored an amber liquid that for all the world resembled apple juice.

            After Armin took a sip of his drink, he turned to face me. His eyes were even bluer this close up and he smelt of something exotic. “You must be Levi.”

            “Oh, um, yes,” I stammered out. “Your dance was—you were amazing.”

            “Thank you. On the way over here, Jean told me that you’re our new cage dancer. I can’t tell you how excited I am about that. Being the only male dancer for a year straight has been a chore.” Out of nowhere, he leaned back in his seat and considered me for several long minutes. “My god, you’re something to look at, aren’t you? I’m going to have some fun dressing you up. I can see you in fishnet stockings.”

            “Oh, fuck, don’t do that to me, Armin,” Eren breathed.

            “Fishnet stockings? Me?” I squeaked, trying to picture myself in an ensemble that would require them. “No, I don’t think that would suit me.”

            Armin raised an eyebrow and tapped the tip of my nose. “You’re absolutely delicious. _Anything_ would suit you, hun. I could dress you in a garbage bag and you’d look flawless. Trust me when I say you can pull off any look. In fact, are you on the clock right now?”

            “I’m not sure.”

            From behind me, Eren said, “You are. What did you have in mind, Armin?”

            Instead of providing us with an answer, he took my hand and hopped off the stool to lead me away from the bar. Both Eren and Jean were close behind us. That was a relief, considering several men were ogling Armin like he was a candy they couldn’t wait to taste. But even as their eyes devoured him whole, he gave them no attention, and I was sure that’s why they came back to the club every night. They hoped that they could get their hands on him, but it was obvious that they never would. Eren told me that I was perfect for this job, and I was beginning to see how I was, because I wouldn’t let anyone have me. I would be unattainable.

            To everyone but him, anyway.      

            It took a while to weave through the mass of people determined to press their warm bodies against us, but once we did, Armin ushered me through a door hidden in plain sight. On the other side of it was a wide corridor that housed several black doors with nameplates on the front of them.

            “You get your own dressing room,” Armin said with excitement. “Mikasa will pay to have it decorated however you’d like. She wants you to feel as comfortable here as you would at home.”

            I hadn’t been expecting to be welcomed aboard with open arms so quickly. I thought that I would have to work for it, but I was wrong. No one questioned why I was here. If anything, it felt like I was being accepted into a close-knit family. From the start, I thought that I would feel out of place among the people working here, but that wasn’t the case. Maybe that had something to do with how I found out about this job. Eren seemed close with just about everyone.

            “There’s an empty room by mine,” Armin told me, grabbing my hand once more. He guided me down the hall until we reached a door that had a blank nameplate on it. He pushed it open and spread his arms out. “Ta-da. What do you think?”

            The room was huge, a lot bigger than I thought a dressing room needed to be, but I couldn’t deny that it was nice. The only thing in here, aside from us, was a red vanity table that looked brand spanking new. “This would be mine?” I asked.

            “Mhm. All yours.”

            “That’s if he decides to take the job,” Eren informed him.

            Armin’s mouth dropped open at the same time I started blabbering. “What? You mean you’re still thinking about whether or not you want to work here? But you’re perfect. I want you to be my prodigy, my little dancer that I can dote on.”

            All I managed to sputter out was, “But I can’t even dance.”

            “You can dance,” Armin said with a roll of his eyes, like I’d just given him the lamest excuse there was to give. I wasn’t sure if that was because he believed in his skills as a teacher, or he thought that I was hiding some fantastic dance abilities. Either way, I knew that I couldn’t move the way he did up in that cage. My hips were not made that way. “If that’s your only excuse, then tell me now.”

            I opened my mouth to tell him the many reasons I wasn’t right for this job, but my brain supplied me with none. Was that really my only excuse? I was sure there was more. Not that listing them off would change my mind. I wanted to do this, or at least try to. Armin must have been clued in to this new revelation by my expression, because he said, “I’ll tell Mikasa that we’ll start your dance training tomorrow. You better be ready to work your ass off.”

            I grinned shyly. “I will be.”

            The next thing I knew, Eren swept me off my feet. I clung onto his shoulders until he came to a standstill. I looked down at him at the same time that he asked, “What about that date?”

            “Whoa, wait a minute,” Jean cut in, speaking up for the first time since we left the bar. “You actually want to date someone?”

            Eren smiled. “Just him.”

            Ugh, why wasn’t he illegal? Was he even aware of what he was doing to me right now? I swear that my heart was about to burst right out of my chest and flop about on the floor. If he took me out on a date, I probably wouldn’t survive the night without having to make an emergency call. But…he wanted to date me. Dating could lead to a steady relationship.

            Nope. I needed medical attention right now. Two nights ago I thought that I would be single for the rest of my days. Now a guy that put any Greek God to shame was asking me out? That was too much to take in at once.

            “I have to go back up in the cage soon,” Armin said, pulling me into a tight hug. “It was nice meeting you, Levi. Come by the club tomorrow at ten. I’ll make a dancer out of you yet.” He smacked my behind before he walked out of the room, Jean trailing behind him.

            I touched my butt where he had hit it. “Is that his personal bodyguard?”

            “Who? Jean?” Eren shook his head. “No, they’re together, so Jean watches him like a hawk.”

            “Oh.”

            We stood there in silence for a few minutes, and then Eren groaned in misery. “You’re killing me here. How many times have I asked you out now? Three?”

            I dropped my eyes to my feet and smiled, my cheeks burning up. “Um, yes.”

            “Yes, what? That I asked you three times? Or that you’ll go out on a date with me?”

            Was he really going to make me say it out loud? “That”—I swallowed—“I’ll go out on a date with you.”

            He had me up against the wall in a matter of seconds, but no part of him was touching me. He had braced his arms on either side of my head and all I could do was stare into his eyes, which were intense and beautiful, a swirl of molten color that made me want to be the only thing he ever looked at from this moment on. “Why is it so hard to control myself around you?” he asked in a whisper, leaning into me, but still depriving me of his touch.

            “I could ask you the same question.”

            He hissed out a breath. “Shit. Don’t say stuff like that. I am trying to be gentleman, which is growing increasingly harder the more time I spend with you.”

            “Do you usually dive right in with other guys?”

            “No,” he said right away. “Then again, I’ve never wanted anyone as badly as I want you. Leave it to me to fall for my little sister’s best friend. Isabel is going to love me for this one.”

            I pressed my palms against the wall to keep myself upright. “What happened between the two of you?”

            Eren turned around, his back muscles far too tempting to look at. “You mean she hasn’t told you that herself?”

            “No.”

            “Well, it’s not my story to tell. So you’re going to have to hear it from her.”    

            I wanted to press for more information, but knew that I wouldn’t get anywhere. I’d given Isabel plenty of opportunities to tell me about what happened to cause them to drift apart to the point that they became unfamiliar, but she never even attempted to talk about it with me, or anyone else. That scared me. What if it was really bad? Would dating him cause Isabel to pull away from me?

            I didn’t want that. She’d been my best friend since high school.

            “Hey,” Eren said, directing my attention back to him. “I don’t want to risk your friendship with her. I’m not worth it.”

            “But I really want to date you,” I said without realizing it. When it hit me, my eyes widened and I became very interested in the vanity table. How could I let that slip out?

            Eren groaned again. “God, you’re going to be the end of me.”

            “I don’t see how. I mean you’re”—I gestured to him—“wow. And I’m…”

            “Insanely attractive,” he finished for me.

            I was shaking my head when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw Isabel’s face lighting up the screen. I considered ignoring her call, seeing as I was standing right next to brother, but I knew that she was worried about me. Ignoring her would just make her more anxious than she already was.

            Picking up, I said, “Hey, Izzy.”

            “‘Hey Izzy?’ That’s all you’re going to give me? It’s been three hours, Levi. I doubt the interview took that long. Are you okay?”

            “I’m fine. I just… I took the job, so the owner of the club wanted me to meet everyone. I’m sorry I didn’t call.”

            She stayed quiet for a long time. Then, “Did you take the job because Eren works there?”

            “What? No. I didn’t even know he worked here.”

            “So you haven’t seen him there?”

            My eyes darted to Eren, who had folded his arms over his chest. “I…”

            “I’m coming, okay? If you’re going to be working there, then I need to talk to him. I’ll see you in a bit.” She hung up before I could respond. I stood there holding my phone pressed against my ear long enough to have Eren coming over to lower my arm down.

            “What is it?” he asked.

            “Isabel’s on her way over here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry jeanmarco shippers. I really just wanted Armin to be with Jean. Also, sassy Armin was a must for me, okay? You don't understand. He's going to take my little Levi under his wing and they're going to be the sexiest cage dancers EVA. Anywho, I'm hyped up on coffee and should definitely leave now, but thank you so much for reading, leaving me kudos, and commenting on this fic of mine. I truly appreciate it. <3


	6. Chapter 6

I stood behind Eren as he rummaged through his locker for an extra work shirt that he swore was there the last time he checked. According to him, if Isabel showed up while he was topless, she’d drag me out of the club faster than I could explain things to her. I didn’t doubt that for a second. Especially since I was the one wearing his shirt. Right now she was looking for any excuse she could find in order to get me out of here. Not that I would let her. I was an adult and I could make my own decisions. At least that’s what I kept telling myself on repeat. Otherwise I’d cave in the second I saw her.

            “Here it is,” Eren said, pulling out a shirt that resembled the one I was wearing, except this one was white. He kicked the door shut as he slid his arms through the sleeves. The material clung to his chest before he pulled it down over his stomach, my eyes following its path until his skin was hidden beneath it. He cleared his throat and I looked up to see him flaunting a knowing smile. When I said nothing, he leaned up against his locker as though he were expecting something from me.

            I needed to stop being so obvious.

            “Izzy is probably here by now,” I mumbled, toying with my glasses to avoid making eye contact. My heart was thumping hard against my ribs, my body growing alarmingly hot, because I realized that we were very much alone in this small locker room. I could feel his presence all around me, strong and palpable, and I wanted nothing more than to close the distance between us. “We should head to the front.”

            Eren rested his head against the locker beside him, the smile leaving his face. He stared at me for a long moment, those incredible eyes drinking me in and taking away my ability to think. All I could do was stare back, even when I knew that the longer I did, the harder it would be to resist him. But I didn’t even want to resist. I wanted to give in to this feeling burning through my veins. If I did, I’d be able to taste him, sink my teeth in, and mark every part of him until he couldn’t remember how it felt to be without me—until I couldn’t remember how it felt to be without him.

            “You really do drive me crazy,” Eren spoke at last as he pushed off the locker to make his way over to me. He stopped a couple feet from where I stood and pinched a lock of my hair between his thumb and forefinger. “I’m not a good person.”

            Here it was: The warning that I’d been dreading. The one I was sure he wouldn’t give me. “Why are you telling me this?” Why now? When I was beyond ready to give in?

            “Because I’m the wolf and you’re the rabbit.” He lowered his mouth to my ear, his voice low and deep as he continued, “I’ll give you this one chance to escape.”

            I swallowed. “A-and if I don’t take it?”

            “Then I’ll catch you, and when I do, you’re mine.”

            I shuddered, his words making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Everything told me to heed to his warning, because from the moment I saw him at that diner, I knew he was trouble. He was a flame that exuded danger, while I was nothing more than a spectator who was entranced by the endless possibilities the unknown had to offer. Yet the closer I got to him, the more I realized that I had already caught on fire. Now it was just a matter of time until I was consumed in flames.

            “I think you already caught me,” I said, just as the door to the right of us swung open to reveal both Isabel and Farlan. It shouldn’t have surprised me that she brought someone along with her, but it did. That was probably because Eren and I were standing awfully close, our bodies almost touching. It took everything in me not to leap backwards, but even as I stood my ground, my face became a hot mess faster than the speed of light.

            Isabel’s eyes narrowed right before they flicked in Eren’s direction. “We need to talk. Now.”

            “Anything for you, sis,” Eren said in a sarcastic tone. He pointed behind her. “You remember where Mikasa’s office is, don’t you? We’ll talk there.”

            Wordlessly, she turned around and strode out of the locker room in a gust of determination. Eren heaved out a sigh and followed after her, leaving me alone with Farlan, who raised both eyebrows in question. I offered him a shrug, because I had no idea what was going on. When it came to Isabel’s issues with Eren, I was just as clueless as he was, and with how things were going, it was going to stay that way. I didn’t know how to feel about that.

            Farlan jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Any idea what’s happening here?”

            “Not really,” I murmured. “Isabel wanted to talk with Eren after I told her that I accepted a job here.”

            “Here?” Farlan pointed to the floor as though that signified the entire club.

            “Yeah.”

            “As a bouncer?” he asked, noticing the shirt I was wearing.

            I’d known Farlan longer than Isabel, yet I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I took a job as a cage dancer. I wasn’t ready to fess up that bit of information, so instead I said, “Not quite.”

            “Hey, look, I’m not here to intrude on your business. You know me better than that, but Isabel seems to think there’s something going on between you and Eren. Is that true? That’s the reason she rushed over here.”

            “And what if it is true? What then?”

            For a while, Farlan stayed quiet. Then he released a heavy sigh and said, “Then you better tell her.”

            Within a few seconds, I was wracked with guilt. It wasn’t like I was planning to keep my date with Eren a secret. I had every intention of telling Izzy about everything. She didn’t come here believing that I would keep things from her. She came here to prevent anything from happening between Eren and me, which sort of pissed me off. Is that how little faith she had in me? Did she not trust my judgment? I was capable of taking care of myself.

            “You’re mad,” Farlan stated. “You like this guy that much?”

            I opened my mouth to deny it, but no words left my lips. I’ve had my fair share of crushes throughout the years, but they didn’t compare to the way I felt about Eren. There was something between us, something nameless and substantial that kept me coming back for more. I couldn’t give it up, and I didn’t want to, not when I knew that Eren wanted me just as much. Maybe, somewhere down the road, I’d regret giving in to this attraction without hesitation, but what was life without taking risks? And that’s exactly what Eren was: a risk.

            “I like him enough to take a chance on him,” I admitted, surprised at how quick the truth spilled out of me. Accepting the job to watch over an underground fight had started a domino effect. That night I tipped over the first chip, and now the rest were following suit. It wouldn’t be long before they were all tumbling down.

            “Then I think you and Isabel need to talk.”

            I nodded in agreement. “I know where Mikasa’s office is. Should we go?”

            “Yeah,” Farlan said, “because, to tell you the truth, Izzy’s here to chew Eren out.”

            “I figured as much.”

            I walked to the door and pulled it open. Farlan was right beside me and I could tell by the look on his face that this wasn’t the reason behind him being brought along for the ride. He was meant to distract me, to keep me away until Isabel was through with Eren. Well, she was in for a surprise. I was going to take control of my life and do things my way, which was a first for me. Up until now, I’d always let other people tell me what to do and how to do it, but that was going to stop tonight.

            It didn’t take us long to wade through the crowd, seeing as everyone had gathered around the stage to watch Armin as he danced. That made getting to the stairwell that much easier. We were halfway up the steps when I heard Isabel shouting. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but I knew that she only raised her voice when she was close to committing murder. I needed to hurry to prevent this from escalating any further.

            “Who the fuck do you think you are?” Isabel yelled as we finally made it to the second floor. “A cage dancer?! Oo, I could just strangle you!”

            In a calm tone, Eren responded with, “Levi took the job of his own free will. What do you think I did?”

            “Don’t give me that. I know you, Eren. I know the way you work.”

            “You don’t know me, Iz. Not anymore. You made sure of that when you went out of your way to keep me out of your life.”

            “And whose fault do you think that is? Don’t blame me for your mistakes.”

            I looked at Farlan and he jerked his chin in the direction of the door, urging me to hurry. Coming here tonight spurred on this fight between them, but I knew there was a lot more behind this than that. They had unresolved issues that were finally bubbling to the surface after all this time. This was the last straw that forced them to confront each other, and I wasn’t sure how far they would take this heated argument if I didn’t put a stop to it now.

            By the time I made it to the door, I didn’t hesitate to push it open. Isabel was in the middle of jabbing Eren in the chest with her index finger when I walked into the room. Her face was contorted into a mask of anger and that didn’t change as she directed her cold stare at me. She was livid, that much I could tell by her expression alone. I had no idea how I was going to intervene without getting caught in the crossfire, but it was better than watching my best friend crumble right in front of me.

            “He didn’t force me to take the job,” I said. I doubted that would clear the air of the tension that was building between them, but it was a start. “I watched Armin dance. I knew what kind of job I was accepting.”

            Isabel turned to face me head on, her eyes narrowing into slits. “Why? This isn’t like you.”

            “I know. I just—I wanted to try something new.”

            “Something, or some _one_?” Her words were pointed enough to cause me to flinch back. I hadn’t been expecting her to come out and say it. It caught me off guard and left me speechless. I stood there grasping for words that refused to come and aid me in my time of need. How could I explain to her that I needed this?

            A hand came to rest on my shoulder and I turned my head to see Farlan giving Isabel a look that held a hidden message I couldn’t understand. “This is what Levi wants,” he said slowly. I watched as Isabel registered the words, her face losing the sharp edge it held seconds ago. “He decided this on his own, Izzy. I know you want to put the blame on Eren, but Levi’s an adult. No one can force his hand. If he wants out, all he has to do is walk away. Isn’t that right?” Now Farlan’s eyes trained on Eren, who regarded him with an impassive stare.

            “That’s right,” Eren agreed. His expression held nothing that would give away what he was feeling. I wanted to tear away the mask and see what he was hiding behind it.

            Farlan reached out and took Isabel’s hand, lacing their fingers to draw her closer to him. “See, love? There’s no need for you to worry.”

            She shook her head as if coming out of a deep fog, and then lifted her eyes to mine. “Is this really what you want?”

            I’d known her long enough to see the pain she was attempting to conceal. This wasn’t about me. This was about Eren. I could see that now. Whatever was going on between them, it was eating her up inside, and had been for a long time now.

            “Yes,” I said.

            “Okay.” Her shoulders began to tremble, soft tremors that traveled down her arms and into her hands. In that moment I would have done anything to fix this, but I knew there was nothing that I could do. Even if I walked away from this right now, turned down the job and went crawling back to my normal life, that wouldn’t resolve a thing between them. “Take me home, Farlan.”

            “Iz,” Eren said as he took a step toward her, a flicker of pain appearing in his eyes. It was gone a moment later, as though it were never there at all.

            She sighed, a sound filled with defeat. “What, Eren? What do you want?”

            “I’m sorry.”

            “I know. I’ve known that for a long time, but it doesn’t change anything.” She returned her gaze to my face and said, “I’ll be okay. I just need to get out of here. I shouldn’t have come.”

            “Izzy…”

            “Levi, really, I’m okay. If this is what you want, then I won’t do anything to stop you. Just promise me that if you have a change of heart, you won’t hesitate to quit.”

            I nodded. “I promise.”

            “That’s all I needed to hear.” She hugged me then, her arms encircling my waist as if she were trying to hold me together. When she stepped back, a forced smile was on her face. “I’m okay,” she repeated, even though we both knew that she wasn’t. Something other than me had driven her to come here. She was hurting, and the one person that could make it stop didn’t know how. Maybe it was too late to put things right. Maybe that’s why they both looked so broken.

            With one final pat to my shoulder, Izzy left the room, Farlan right behind her. I stood there looking after them until their backs were nothing more than an afterimage.

            “I won’t keep you here. If you want to go, go.” Eren fumbled around until he had a lit cigarette between his fingers. He took a long drag, breathing out the smoke like he wanted to erase everything that just happened. Isabel wasn’t the only one hurting.

            “Can you fix this?” I asked him as he sat down on the edge of Mikasa’s desk.

            He smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile. “Oh, no. I’ve tried—many times, on many different occasions. If Isabel is anything, it’s stubborn.”

            “Then maybe I should go.”

            Eren seemed to panic, his eyes widening a fraction before they returned to normal. He stubbed out his cigarette and approached me like I was about to bolt out the door. “Levi…”

            “What?”

            “I can’t fix this, but I don’t want you to go.”

            I pressed the heels of my palms against my temples, conflicted. “She’s my best friend.”

            “I know that.”

            I said nothing, because there was nothing to say. Isabel was my best friend and she needed me right now. There was no question about what I should do.

            As I turned around to leave, Eren reached out and took my hand. He spun me around faster than I could comprehend, grabbing my other wrist to keep me in place. There was something there in his eyes that kept me from protesting, something desperate. For a second, I could see that he had every intention on keeping me here, no matter what it took, and then his eyes cleared and his walls came rushing back up. He released me and stepped back.

            “Go,” he said, his tone cold and dismissive.

            “I—I’m sorry.”

            I ran out of Mikasa’s office, convincing myself, with each step that I took, that I was doing the right thing by leaving. I knew nothing about Eren, and maybe it was better that way. I’d forget about him in no time. So why did I want to go back?

            The people I passed on my way out were nothing but a blur, the music masked by the breath rushing out of my lungs as I picked up my pace. I needed to get out of here before I turned around. This had all been a mistake and it took Isabel coming for me to see that. I talked myself into believing that I could be a part of this world when I knew nothing about it. I was running away, just like I always did, just like I always would. I was a coward at best.

            Once I made it outside, the air cool on my flushed skin, I stopped to catch my breath. The chattering of people waiting to get into the club pressed in on me and I knew that I was panicking, my chest tight with it. I was afraid of losing my best friend over this. I was afraid of giving in. I was afraid of the affect Eren had on me in such a short amount of time. All of this fear sprang out of me at once, triggered by Isabel’s retreating back, and all I could do was run from it—even when I was so tired of running.

            In a haze, I walked to my car and climbed into it the instant I unlocked the driver’s side door. When I was sitting, I grabbed onto the steering wheel and rested my forehead against it. This had all gone south in a matter of minutes. I was so sure that I would be showing up at Club Rose tomorrow to train with Armin, but who was I kidding? I was a fool to think that I could actually be a cage dancer. I was nothing like Armin, or Eren, or Mikasa, and I never would be. It was better to accept that now, because I had to go to Isabel, to find out if she was okay.

            With shaky fingers, I put the key in the ignition, turning it until the engine rumbled to life. I straightened up and put my seatbelt on, ready to leave, but I didn’t drive. I sat there, staring out the front windshield until the people walking along the sidewalk became abstract shapes, until every sound coming from the busy street morphed together, becoming a high-pitched ringing in my ears. I couldn’t drive, not like this. And it was as I was thinking this that the passenger door swung open and in came Eren.

            “What?” I asked in confusion.

            “I have nothing to lose,” was all he said in response. Then he leaned over the center console and kissed me, hard, his lips parting mine. Stunned, I did nothing to stop it. He took advantage of this and fisted his hand in my hair, using his grasp on the strands to tug my head to the side. His tongue invaded my mouth after that, moving across mine and drawing a moan from me. Desire spread through me as I fought to get closer to him. I lost any control I possessed, overtaken by the sensations running through me. But just as soon as it began, it ended. Eren leaned back, breaking our lips apart. “I had to do that at least once.”

            I stared at him. It was all I was capable of doing right then.           

            “Bye, Levi.” Eren pushed open the passenger side door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He was gone the next moment, just like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm going to start tracking the tag metamorphosisfic on both Tumblr and Instagram. Feel free to tag me in fanart, comments, or anything that reminds you of this fic of mine.
> 
> I'm getting really bad at writing End Notes, but what is there to say other than this fic is finally starting to take off? I'm happy and excited for what's to come.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very early update, to show everyone reading this my gratitude, and also an apology of sorts for not replying to comments. I'm just too busy these days, so it's hard to get back to everyone, so I'd rather not pick and choose who to reply to. Otherwise I feel bad. xD Of course, if you ever have a question, I will respond.
> 
> Let's just sum this up as a big fat: Thank you for reading and liking my fic. <3

At seven o’clock the next morning, I woke up with every intention of staying in bed for the rest of the day. I wasn’t in the mood to face everything that happened last night, so I was going to lie here until the memory of Eren’s lips on mine vanished. That was the plan for the next forty-eight hours, and the worst part was I couldn’t even talk to my best friend about any of this. Before I came home last night, I’d visited Isabel at her apartment and she ignored the elephant in the room like nothing had happened at Club Rose. Not once did her brother’s name cross her lips, and I had the urge to grab her by the shoulders and demand that she tell me the truth about what was going on between her and Eren. Instead, I said nothing, went along with her cheery façade, because I didn’t want to hurt her. But I knew that keeping all these feelings bottled up inside was hurting her even more.

            With a sigh, I rolled onto my stomach and buried my face against the pillow waiting for me there. There were too many thoughts running through my mind. I knew it would be impossible to fall back asleep. I should get up, be productive, go out and job hunt, but I lacked the will to move. I yearned for the oblivion sleep offered, but it was obvious that I wasn’t going to get the sweet release of slumber anytime soon. I might as well get up and eat something, maybe clean for a while, do anything that would serve as a distraction. That much was needed today.

            I sat up and kicked off the blankets, turning around to swing my legs over the side of the bed. I reached up and ran a finger over my lips, remembering the taste of Eren. Why had he come out to search for me? He was supposed to let me leave, not torment me with a fleeting moment of ecstasy. I could still feel his tongue sweeping against mine, filling me with a desire that demanded to be quenched. I squeezed my eyes shut on a groan. This wasn’t helping me any. I needed to nip this in the bud, to put an end to it before it could even begin. I wasn’t going to accomplish that by moping around every time he crossed my mind.

            Standing up, I picked up my glasses from on top of the nightstand beside my bed and slid them into place. I would go about my day as I normally would, but before I could do that, there was something I had to do. I owed it to Mikasa and Armin to tell them that I would no longer be taking the position as the next male dancer at Club Rose. I also needed to return Eren’s shirt, so I had to make one final pit stop at his place of work. I was hoping that he wouldn’t be there when I dropped by at ten. I was counting on his absence, because if I saw him, I wouldn’t know what to do.

 

I pulled up in front of the building that housed the club at exactly 9:50. I sat in my idling car for a few seconds longer, to prepare myself for what was to come, and then I shut off the engine and stepped out into the bright morning light. At this time of year, everything was blooming, filling the air with the rich scent of orange blossoms. I turned my head toward the oncoming wind and inhaled the mingled fragrances of spring. As I stood there with the warm wind playing with my hair, a car pulled up behind mine. I darted a glance at the driver, almost expecting it to be Eren, but I met blue eyes.

            Armin.

            I waved to him, half expecting him to shoot me a cold stare, like he already knew the real reason behind me coming here this morning, but he just smiled and waved back. Getting out of his car, he said, “You actually came. I wasn’t expecting to see you here after what happened with Isabel last night.”

            He knew already?

            “Oh, um…” I trailed off, not knowing how to go on.

            He walked up to me, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind his right ear. Today he wasn’t bound in a tight leather suit. Instead he wore a baby-blue long sleeve shirt, jeans, and brown boots. He looked very sweet and cute, nothing like the guy from the night before, the guy who looked sinful in the most angelic way possible. “Eren told me all about what happened,” Armin said as he reached me. “He told Mikasa, as well. The three of us are very close, so we tend to tell each other everything as soon as it happens.”

            “I’m sorry. Really, I am. I came here to tell you myself.”

            He raised his hand to silence me. I shut my mouth. “It’s fine, Levi. Mikasa gave me your number, so I was actually going to call you so we could talk.”

            “We?” I asked skeptically. I wasn’t ready to see Eren. Not now, when the memory of his kiss was still fresh in my mind.

            “We, as in Mikasa and I. Eren won’t be in until tonight. No need to worry about seeing him.”

            A hint of disappoint settled in the pit of my stomach, blossoming until it was all I could feel. I wondered if I’d ever see him again, or would he become nothing more than a memory? I wanted to forget about him right now, to erase the image of his face from my mind’s eye, but I knew that it wouldn’t be easy. He had awakened something in me that was growing steadily, persistently. I wasn’t sure how to stop it from rearing up, because it wanted to be heard, this part of me that I’d kept under wraps my entire life.

            “Come inside,” Armin said, putting his hand on my arm. “Mikasa’s already here, so the front doors are open.”

            I nodded and let him steer me toward the front entrance. We strode past the velvet rope and he pushed open a heavy door. None of the neon lights were turned on at this hour, which gave me a clear view of the club for the first time. It was all deep reds and blacks that blended together perfectly. I took it all in as we crossed the dance floor to get to the bar, where Mikasa was sitting, waiting. She was in a white eyelet dress that revealed a tattoo just beneath her collarbone. She regarded me as she took a sip of something from the mug she was holding.

            “You came on your own,” she said, setting the mug down.

            I grabbed at the strap of my messenger bag. “I wanted to tell you personally that I won’t be taking the job anymore.”

            She pointed to the bar stool next to hers. “Take a seat. There’s plenty we need to talk about.” I set my bag down beside the stool before I sat. “Would you like some coffee?”

            “Um, yes. Thank you.” I preferred tea, but I wasn’t about to be picky.

            “I’ll make it,” Armin declared with a smile. He hopped over the bar and started up a coffee machine that was tucked in a cranny beside rows of glass bottles that held a variety of liquor in them. Soon the familiar aroma of coffee filled the air. “Do you take it with milk? Sugar?”

            “Just black.”

            Armin poured a stream of coffee into a white mug. He placed it in front of me. “Here you are.”

            “Thank you,” I said.

            Mikasa turned to me then, her dark eyes narrowing in on my face. I waited for her to say something, but she simply stared at me in silence. When I began to fidget, nervous, she said, “There are always two sides of a story. Isabel hasn’t bothered to tell you hers, even when she made Eren out to be the bad guy. She dragged you into this without any explanation.”

            “She didn’t drag me into anything. She’d never do that.”

            “She came here to stop you from working here, did she not?”

            “Because she was worried about me. She wanted to stop me from doing something I might regret, but…” I didn’t know how to proceed. I was grasping at straws. “She’s my best friend.”

            Mikasa looked at me. “And Eren’s mine. I’ve known him since we were in elementary school. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, and neither would anyone who works at this club. Isabel knows that. Hell, she’s known me all her life, yet she came here last night acting like you were in dire need of help. What’s going on between her and Eren has been going on for a long time, and she’s hurt him in more ways than one, and she’s aiming to do it again.”

            “How? I just won’t be working here—”

            “Eren likes you,” Mikasa said, cutting me off with a wave of her hand. “He likes you a lot. Do you think she doesn’t know that?”

            I suddenly felt very sick to my stomach. Isabel wouldn’t use me as a means to hurt her brother. She wasn’t capable of something like that, because she had to know that I would get hurt in the process.

            “I’m not trying to turn you against her,” Mikasa continued, “but Eren doesn’t deserve how she’s been treating him. He _never_ deserved it. If she really came down here because she was worried about you taking up a job as a cage dancer, then she wouldn’t mind if I offered you a job as my personal assistant. Right?”

            I gaped at her, speechless. I never thought that she would offer me yet another job, especially after I ran out of here last night without giving her any type of explanation. Being someone’s personal assistant wasn’t exactly a dream job of mine, but it wasn’t risky either. Isabel shouldn’t have a problem with it, and I’d still get to see Eren. Or maybe that’s exactly why Mikasa was doing this, as a test. Was Isabel really worried about me becoming a cage dancer? Or did she want me as far away from Eren as possible?

            Why was I being forced into the middle of this?

            “Do you like Eren?” Armin asked out of nowhere, sipping at his coffee like he just commented on the weather.

            “Huh?” I blurted, surprised enough to stare at him wide-eyed.

            Armin grinned. “Eren’s devastatingly handsome, right? Most people think he fools around with just about anyone who shows an interest in him, but that’s the thing, he’s not that kind of guy. He hardly lets anyone near him. He focuses all his energy on work, his friends, and the fight club he runs. So imagine my surprise when he asked you out on a date after only knowing you for a day.” He lifted his eyes to mine and there was affection there. He really cared for Eren. “So, I’ll ask you again: Do you like him? Because he definitely likes you.”

            I fiddled with my drink, alarmed by how happy hearing that made me. What was I doing? I came here to announce, with certainty, that I wouldn’t be taking the job as a cage dancer. I was supposed to get in and then get right back out, so I could go back to my life. Yet, here I was, longing to stay, longing to see Eren. Why wouldn’t Isabel tell me what he’d done? If it were that bad, and she wanted me to stay away from him, then why would she keep it from me? I was torn. I didn’t know what to do.

            Mikasa put her hand over mine, startling me. “Talk to her. This isn’t fair for you.”

            “I know it isn’t,” I whispered, but I didn’t know how to talk to Isabel about this. I wasn’t even sure she wanted to talk about it, or if she was happier pretending that Eren didn’t exist.

            “Take all the time you need.”

            The sound of the front doors opening ruined the moment and Mikasa looked at Armin questionably. He shook his head. They didn’t know who it was. My heart started to race in my chest, but then someone called out, “Armin!” I recognized the voice. It was Jean. “You said you were coming here, so I dropped by, because our good ole pal, Eren, needs a pick me up to get over that shrimp. What was his name again? Austin? Travis? No, wait, it was Billy.”

            “Levi, you moron.” That was Eren. He was here too.

            Oh, shit. I needed to hide, duck for cover. Do something to keep him from seeing me.

            “Jean, shut up,” Armin shot back, giving me an apologetic look as he did. I shrugged. I’d heard worse insults than _shrimp_.

            By the time Jean made it to the dance floor, I felt close to a heart attack, but I didn’t have to worry, because Eren lingered back and leaned up against the wall. He reclined his head against it and shut his eyes. Not once did he look over at the bar, which meant he hadn’t seen me. That gave me the opportunity to stare at him, uncaring of who saw me doing it. He wore a dark-grey shirt and black cargo pants that hung low on his hips. God, that did things to me.

            When Jean spotted me sitting next to Mikasa, he said, “Oh,” in stunned surprise.

            “Yeah,” Armin murmured with a roll of his eyes. “Keep your mouth shut.”

            Throughout their exchange, I kept staring at Eren, and my resolve strengthened the longer I did. I leaned toward Mikasa, determination making me bold. I wasn’t going to let anyone hold me back anymore. “I’ll take the job as your personal assistant.”

            She searched my eyes and saw something there that made her smile. “Is that so?”

            I nodded once. “Yes.”

            Suddenly Eren’s eyebrow twitched in agitation. “Jean, you sure are taking your sweet ass time—” He stopped mid-sentence, his mouth half opened. He’d finally opened his eyes to see me looking at him. “Levi.” My name left him in a breathless, surprised way that assured me he didn’t know I’d be here today. He fully expected me not to show up.

            Armin cleared his throat, giving me a meaningful look as he said, “We’ll leave you two alone.”

            I wanted to plead with him to stay, to give me more time, but instead I nodded. Soon all three of them—Jean, Mikasa, and Armin—scurried out of the room, toward Mikasa’s office, and I was left alone with Eren, who hadn’t moved an inch since seeing me. I couldn’t think of a single thing to say to him. Last night had been quite eventful, and that kiss—that kiss had ruined me for any other, because he was all I could think about.

            “I brought your shirt,” I said, pitifully digging through my bag. I tugged it out and held it out to him, even when he was far from me.

            “Is that why you came? To return my shirt?”

            I let my arm drop. “I came to tell Mikasa and Armin why I wouldn’t be showing up for training. Then they started talking to me about you and…”

            “And?”

            I looked up at him. His expression was nonchalant and I cursed him for being able to hide his emotions. “And I’m going to be Mikasa’s personal assistant now.” I shrugged. “I’m sorry for running out last night. I didn’t want to hurt Isabel, but I never meant to hurt you either. I’m just… I’m sorry for everything.”

            “It wasn’t your fault,” he said. “You did what you thought was right. That’s all that matters.”

            My eyebrows pinched together involuntarily. “No, that’s not all that matters. Y-you matter too. If you think you don’t, then you’re wrong. You’re all I think about. You’re a constant thought in my head and it’s driving me crazy, because I don’t know how you feel. I don’t even know how I feel. My emotions are everywhere. I can’t keep track of them anymore and you’re the one to blame.” I stopped, pressing my lips together as I dropped my eyes to stare at my white sneakers.

            “Come with me.”

            I returned my gaze to his. “Excuse me?”

            “Spend the rest of the day with me. Let me show you how serious I am about you.”

            As I stared at him, utterly speechless, I realized that there was nothing holding me back. If I wanted to go, then I could. This was my life. No one could live it except for me. Only I could feel the desire, the wonder, coursing through me in this very moment, so why should anyone else tell me how to go about this? Today, I would spend the day with Eren, because that’s exactly what I wanted to do. If Isabel had a problem with it, then she could tell me some other time.

            I stood up on shaky legs, hoping that I didn’t stumble over, and said, “Okay.”

            Eren smiled a beautiful smile and I wanted to know him, through and through. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

            When I reached him, I suddenly remembered that he came here with Jean. “Is your motorcycle here?”

            “Yeah. Jean drives like a grandpa. I can’t stand it, so I came here on my own.”

            I laughed and it sounded almost like a giggle—how embarrassing, but Eren’s eyes softened. He reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear, just looking at me. His words came rushing back to me: He was the wolf, and I was the rabbit, plunging forward into the wolf’s awaiting mouth.

\---

 

Eren and I walked along the boardwalk, the waves lapping against the shore a constant sound in the background. I held an ice cream cone that he bought me from a small shop a little ways from the beach. Mint chocolate chip dripped down the sides. I fussed at it as we walked, annoyed that my hands were getting sticky.

            “You look like you want to kill your ice cream cone,” Eren said, smiling from ear to ear.

            I scoffed. “Do not.”

            “Yeah, you do.”

            “It’s because my hands are sticky. See?” I held my hand out so he could see the green ice cream coloring my palm. Without warning, he leaned forward and ran his tongue over the mess. Caught by surprise, I let out a squeak slash moan. When he leaned back, I clapped my hand over my mouth, embarrassed.

            “Better?” he asked, swiping his thumb across his bottom lip to gather up the ice cream there. He licked it off his finger in a very sexual way.

            “Y-you licked my hand!”

            He grinned. “I did. And you do always shout when you’re nervous. Fuck. You’re too cute for your own good.”

            I licked at my ice cream like a sulking child, ignoring him because my face was burning and I was sure my cheeks were the same shade as a ripe strawberry.

            “There’s an easy way to get un-sticky, you know,” Eren said.

            “How’s that?”

            With a devilish smirk on his face, Eren scooped me up in his arms, and started walking over to the wooden fencing that blocked the beach from us. I realized what he was planning to do. I shook my head, not amused, but he set me down on my feet on the other side anyway. I watched as he hopped over the fencing, then he picked me back up.

            “I’m not wearing a swim suit,” I said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was.

            “So?” Eren kept walking toward the ocean. There weren’t a lot of people here. There was a family of four not too far from us, two kids playing in the sand as their parent’s watched, but they didn’t notice us. Their eyes remained in place as Eren slipped his hand down my leg to take off my shoe. “You don’t need a swim suit.”

            My ice cream cone almost slid out of my hand as he jostled me around to remove my other shoe. I decided to take revenge and pressed the ice cream against the corner of his mouth. “Whoops,” I said, biting my lip to stifle a laugh. It was running down his chin.

            “I’ll get you back for that.” He licked the corner of his mouth before he put me down. He kicked off his own shoes and took off his shirt, tossing them onto the sand without a care. Then, in a flash, he grabbed the cone from me and smashed it against my cheek. I squealed.

            “That’s cold!” I rubbed at my face, but then his hands were taking purchase of the hem of my shirt. Comprehending what he wanted, I raised my hands above my head. He slipped my shirt up and off my head. Then we were wading into the ocean, and I was so happy being here with him that I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away after this.

            I was his captive, even if he didn’t know it yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you wondering if Levi will still be a cage dancer, the answer is hell to the yes. It will just take time. Some things need to be resolved before that can happen.
> 
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/levi.eren_/) (ereri account)
> 
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/dressed_in_darkness/) (writing account, where I post sneak peeks)
> 
>  
> 
> [Tumblr](http://warriorflesh.tumblr.com/)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update once again, because tomorrow I'll be far too busy to post this. <3

I sat cross-legged in the middle of Mikasa’s office, going through an abundance of paperwork that she wanted me to sort out before filing it away in the monster of a filing cabinet that took up residence beside her desk. For the past week, I’d been working at Club Rose as her personal assistant. Everything was changing now, my life shifting until things started to click into place as they became familiar. Eren and I were dating exclusively, meeting up with each other on a near constant basis, even at work, when we weren’t supposed to. Things between us were unfolding, bit-by-bit, and it was better than I ever could’ve imagined it. Except, amidst the newfound happiness, there was Isabel. I didn’t keep anything from her. I told her everything there was to tell, but she feigned indifference, and at this point, I didn’t know what to do. The ball was in her court. She had to decide where to go from here.

            Leafing through a stack of papers, the door to Mikasa’s office opened. Assuming it was her who entered the room, I said, “I’ll be done by the time you need to close up.”

            “Don’t push yourself too much, Mr. Ackerman.” That voice didn’t belong to Mikasa.

            I looked up into Eren’s different colored eyes. He smiled and held up a brown paper bag. “For me?” I asked.

            “For us. I bought food, because you have worked straight through your break.”

            “I have?” I considered the clock hanging above Mikasa’s desk and saw that he was right. “I guess I have, but you didn’t have to get me anything.”

            He set down two plastic cups on the desk before he took a seat in front of me, stretching his legs out until they were nearly in my lap. “I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to. Here.” He handed me something wrapped in white tissue paper. I took it from him and placed it on his shins. It was a grilled Panini, bursting with zucchini, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted tomatoes, and fresh spinach. It smelled heavenly, reminding me just how hungry I was.

            “You remembered,” I said with a moronic grin plastered on my face. It was the little things like this that made me insanely happy. Most people didn’t bother to remember that I didn’t eat meat, even when it was kind of important.

            “That you’re vegan?” he questioned. I nodded. “I remember just about everything you tell me about yourself.”

            I didn’t know how to respond to that without making a complete fool out of myself, so instead I thanked him for the food and took a bite of the Panini. We ate in comfortable silence, surrounded by loose papers that I’d stared at for the better part of the night, and I realized—as Eren leaned to the side to pick up his drink from on top of the desk—how content I was sitting here with him. There was no need to interrupt the quiet by speaking of trivial things that didn’t matter. We were satisfied just being in each other’s company.

            When we were through eating, Eren said, “There’s a fight planned for tonight,” as he gathered up our wrappers and used napkins. He tossed them into the wastebasket. “Want to come with me?”

            I lifted my arms above my head in a lazy stretch, my back popping in response. I still had a lot of work to do before I could leave for the night. “Are you fighting?”

            “Yep.”

            “Then count me in.” I would never pass up the chance to watch him fight, although now I was a little too concerned for his well being. “Do you know who you’re going up against?”

            “Never do,” he said. I must’ve made a face, because he added, “Worried about me?”

            Truth be told, I _was_ worried, but I wasn’t about to admit it. I knew that he was more than capable of taking care of himself. He’d taken down Reiner without a fuss, even when that ape was twice his size. So I had no reason to believe that he wouldn’t do the same thing with tonight’s opponent. Yet, despite knowing that his fighting skills were almost unmatchable, I worried. I bit at my bottom lip and finally brought my eyes up to his. He was staring at me with an unreadable expression, a crease marring the skin between his eyebrows.

            “What is it?” I asked. I knew that I was an open book, but I hoped that I was able to conceal _some_ emotion from him.

            He shook his head, as if coming out of a daze. “You just—you drive me crazy.”

            “So you’ve told me before.”

            “Yeah, well, it’s the truth.”

            I smiled as I scooped up a handful of papers. I tapped them on the floor to straighten them out. “Well, I must not drive you that crazy, because you haven’t pinned me up against the wall lately.” I was kidding. It was my sad attempt at a joke, yet his eyes lit up with emotion, like I’d just unearthed something he was trying to keep hidden.

            “I don’t think you realize just how much effort it takes for me to control myself around you. I want to touch you all the time.”

            I stared at him wide-eyed, both surprised and turned on by his admission. I swallowed several times, racking my brain for something to say, but I couldn’t think of anything. I couldn’t think at all, my brain blanker than a white sheet of paper. “Um…”

            “Don’t worry,” he broke in, mistaking my silence for something else. “I won’t try anything.”

            Without much thought, I asked, “Why?”

            “Because I don’t want to scare you away.”

            Someone needed to pinch me, hard, because this had to be a dream. There was no other explanation for this—this God-like creature to be holding himself back in fear of driving me away. He could throw me across the room like a used basketball and I’d still want him. Then again, the more I thought about it, the more I knew that wasn’t true. I had self-respect. I wouldn’t put up with anyone treating me less than how I deserved to be treated, and I’d made that clear when I was ready to walk out after I thought he was playing a joke on me about the cage dancer position. So, in other words, he really did like me. I’d heard it countless times from both Mikasa and Armin, but this proved it to me.

            Okay, I needed to sit down. Wait. I was already sitting.

            I needed to _lie_ down.  

            “Levi?” Eren said, worry coloring his tone.

            I peeked up at him through the hair that fell onto my forehead. “Are you always like this with guys you like?”

            “Hell no. Armin told me I was very inconsiderate toward the people I dated back when, that I didn’t think about their feelings enough, but it’s because they didn’t grab my attention. They bored me after a short amount of time, so I’d call it quits. That’s why I stopped dating altogether. It didn’t seem worth it.” He patted his pockets in search of his pack of cigarettes. I noticed that he smoked more often when he was feeling nervous.

            “And it’s different with me?” I asked. What if he got bored of me? Would he toss me aside like he did with everyone else?

            Eren met my gaze. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I always want to be around you. I’m thinking up ways to see you, like right now for instance. I bribed Jean to take over my shift, so I could go buy you food. I’ve never been like this with anyone. Trust me.” He popped a cigarette into his mouth, frowned, and then regarded me again. “Does it bother you when I smoke around you?”

            “No,” I said as I shook my head with a smile. He was being so careful, tiptoeing around me like I was something delicate, which was going against the grain for him. “You don’t have to be so cautious around me.”

            “No, I do.” He lit his cigarette and relaxed against Mikasa’s desk after he took the first drag. “You’re way too good for me. One day you’ll wake up and see that.”

            Before I could answer, someone knocked on the door, interrupting our conversation. I looked at Eren, but he just shrugged. “Come in,” I called, not knowing how else I could respond.

            The door cracked open and Armin poked his head inside with a mischevious grin. I eyed the bunny ears headband he was wearing. “I’m here to remind the both of you that this Friday is karaoke night.” Eren groaned, earning himself a glare. Armin pointed at him as he stepped inside and said, “Don’t you ruin this for me. Okay, so listen, Levi. Everyone dresses up for karaoke night. Since you’re no longer going to be my little prodigy, I _insist_ that you let me dress you up this Friday.”

            “Dress me up?” Mikasa told me about karaoke night earlier, said it was a big deal, but she didn’t mention anything about dressing up.

            He nodded in excitement, his blonde hair bouncing as he did. “Yes. I want to slap some leather on you.”

            I looked at his outfit for the night. It was form fitting and somewhat see through. “Uh.” I gulped. “If I agree to this, will you promise not to put me in anything see through?”

            “I promise!” Armin shouted, clapping his hands together. “Ah, I’m so excited! I’m going to doll you up. I might even persuade you into joining me in the cage.”

            “I don’t know,” I said.

            Armin wiggled his eyebrows, smiling suggestively. “Sure about that? On karaoke night, the audience is allowed to vote for a bouncer to join me in the cage. Eren wins all the time. It upsets Jean. Maybe you can take my place. You know, get up in the cage with Eren while he’s shirtless and handcuffed.”

            “He’ll be handcuffed?” I squeaked.

            “Well, that’s not usually how it happens, but it can be arranged. Right, Eren?”

            Eren turned his head to the side and blew out a cloud of smoke. “Levi can handcuff me anytime.”

            Oh, God.

            Armin was pleased with his answer. “See? But we’ll talk more about this later. I have to go back up in a minute. I’ll text you.” And just like that, he was gone, leaving me sitting there with images in my head that were far too tempting to pass up.

            “You don’t have to do it,” Eren assured me.

            I knew that I didn’t have to, but what if I wanted to?

 

At two o’clock in the morning, after hours of filing that led to multiple paper cuts, my shift ended. I stood up from where I sat on the floor and shuffled over to Mikasa’s desk to retrieve my messenger bag. I was exhausted, every fiber of my being yearning for rest. I never thought that paperwork could drain me this way, but here I was, more than half asleep. By now, Eren would be out front waiting for me. He texted me a while ago to let me know that he would drive us to the warehouse. Despite the fact that I was seconds away from passing out, I was determined to go with him, to support him in any way that I could. So, first things first, I needed a large amount of caffeine in my system.

            After I locked up Mikasa’s office, I walked down the hallway to find Eren sitting on the top step of the stairwell. This startled me to no end and I let out a loud screech that would put any actor to shame. I sounded like a dying hippo, or maybe a dying giraffe. Either way, it was a horrible, piercing sound that bounced around for a while before fading out.

            Eren laughed, loudly, and then beckoned me to sit down next to him as he recovered. When I was sitting, my heart thudding hard in my chest, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

            “I thought you were going to wait for me out front?” I asked, sounding accusative. Jeez, there was no end to my embarrassment.

            “I,” he paused, gave his head a little shake, and then continued, “Yeah, I was going to.”

            What was that all about?                      

            The narrow hallway we sat in was dim, so I could only make out half his face, while the other half was hidden in shadows. From what I could see, the smile had morphed into a serious expression. He was just looking at me, his hands clasped tight in his lap, like he was thinking hard about something. I watched him, waited, but he didn’t say anything to break the silence. What could he be thinking about? I wanted to ask, in hopes of receiving some bit of information he was keeping from me, but opted to stay quiet until he was ready to talk.

            Finally, Eren said, “You look tired.”

            That wasn’t what he wanted to say. I knew that much. “I’m not.”

            “Liar. You look like you’re having a hard time keeping your eyes open.”

            This was true, but I refused to admit defeat. I shook my head. “Nope. Sorry. I am as awake as they come. Are you trying to get rid of me?”

            “No,” he said. “I’m just thinking about you dozing off while sitting on the back of my motorcycle. That wouldn’t end well for you.”

            That didn’t sound pleasant whatsoever. “Um, well, you could always drive my car to the warehouse.” I owned a white Chevrolet Spark, which didn’t seem like a very Eren-like vehicle. He loved to go fast. I, on the other hand, preferred to abide by the traffic laws, so a Spark was a safe bet for me. Thinking about cars reminded me of his opinion about Jean’s driving. If Jean drove like a grandpa, then I most definitely drove like a prehistoric grandma with bad eyesight.

            I made a mental note to never offer Eren a ride anywhere.

            “Yeah, let’s do that.” He rose to his feet and held his hand out to me.

            I let him help me to a stand, and then we were making our way downstairs, where the rest of security was still hustling out any stragglers. Ymir, a woman about the same age as me, saw us and smirked. She had a firm grip on a bulky man with red hair. I would’ve been concerned if I didn’t know that she could beat someone into oblivion with her hands tied behind her back. Eren handpicked her for this job, just like the rest of the bouncers who worked at Club Rose. Every single one of them had the utmost respect for him. They went to him for guidance, and since he had welcomed me here, so had they.

            As Ymir dragged the guy behind her with little effort, I waved to her and said, “Be careful.” She barked out a laugh, which earned her a stern look from Eren, who reminded her not to get cocky.

            When we made it passed everyone, and were out in the parking lot that reeked of booze and used cigarettes, I directed Eren toward my car. It was parked beside Mikasa’s truck, which just made it look that much smaller. “That’s it,” I said, pointing it out.

            “Wow, that’s a tiny car.” He couldn’t hide the smile that was threatening to split his cheeks.

            I was deeply offended. “It gets good gas mileage!”

            “I have no doubt about that,” Eren said, seeming amused. He was enjoying this way too much. “I don’t think I’ll fit in it, though.”

            “Stop being an asshole. You can fit in it.”     

            He started laughing and I just stood there glaring daggers at him. “Oh, fuck, you’re too much for me. Come here.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him as he leaned back against my car. Our bodies came together, stealing away any words of protest. I just looked up at him as he ran his fingers through my hair, which felt nice, relaxing. It was something I could get used to, being this close to him. “I like your car, just like I like you.” His fingers skimmed along the back of my neck, up passed my undercut and into the longer strands of my hair.

            “My car is nice,” I said sleepily, somewhat pouting.

            “Mhm, the nicest,” he whispered as he leaned in, his lips brushing across my jaw. He suddenly nipped my lower lip and I made a sound caught between a moan and a gasp. “Shit. You make it so hard to keep my hands off of you.”

            “But I’m not even doing anything.”

            “Exactly. If you were actually trying, I’d probably just fall to my knees and do whatever you say.”

            I pressed my forehead to his chest. I could feel heat flooding every inch of my face. “D-don’t say stuff like that!”

            “Why?”

            “It’s embarrassing,” I groaned.

            “It’s embarrassing that I’ll let you do whatever you want to me?” Well, that concocted up an image of him that would no doubt accompany me into my dreams. “It’s the truth, though.”

            “It’s just—let’s just—We should definitely go! You’re going to be late, and the guys’ are going to count that as a forfeit. We don’t want that, so let’s get a move on.” I was aware that I was rambling out of nervousness, but I couldn’t stop myself. Why did he have to say things that made me feel like a jittery ball of arousal?

            Eren simply rubbed my back in a way that soothed me and said, “Fine, we’ll go. But I meant what I said.”  

 

To my great embarrassment, I fell asleep during Eren’s match, just clonked out after he delivered a blow to his opponent, who was this tall, thin guy named Bertolt. Now, an hour or so later, I was blinking into awareness. The fight was over and a lot of the men were gone, but there were still a few lingering behind. The ones remaining were huddled around each other, talking. From my vantage point, I could see Eren’s bare back as he discussed something with Connie and Jean. They looked serious, concentrated, which made me wonder what their conversation could be about, but I wasn’t ready to announce that I was awake. My body was rigid, and I was sure that I looked like a zombie from _The Walking Dead._

            Sitting up in the padded chair I passed out in, I tried to stay quiet, to remain unnoticed, but of course the chair legs scraped across the cement floor in the loudest way possible. When I looked up, Eren, Jean, and Connie were staring at me.

            Connie smiled and said, “Hey, Glasses is up!”

            Glasses? Was that my new nickname?

            “Hey,” I said, coming to a stand. My legs were stiff and sore. “Sorry for falling asleep.”

            Eren turned to me then, and I saw that he had blood dripping from a deep gash just below his left eye. I gaped at him, astonished that he was standing there like it was nothing—that they were all just standing there. Why wasn’t Connie or Jean doing anything about it? Were they blind or something? I had half a mind to smack them on the back of the head for not going and getting a first aid kit. That wound needed tending to, yet they were standing around like big oafs.

            I crossed the room in long strides and grabbed Eren’s hand. “Where’s the first aid kit?”

            He looked at me, amused. “We don’t have one.”

            “What?” I practically shouted. I gestured to his face. “You’re bleeding. Is there a bathroom around here, at least?”

            “Upstairs,” Connie said, pointing to the ceiling.

            As soon as I knew where to go, I dragged Eren out of the room, up the stairs, and into a dingy bathroom that smelt of stale air freshener. I flipped on the light, washing the stand-alone sink yellow, and pointed to the toilet. “Sit,” I demanded. He sat as I picked up the roll of toilet paper. I wound several pieces around my fingers and turned the hot water tap, letting the water run until it warmed up.

            “I’m okay,” Eren said. “It doesn’t even hurt.”

            “It has to hurt. It’s deep. Just…let me clean you up.”

            He didn’t argue with me as I gently dabbed at the gash with the damp toilet paper, which was a sorry excuse for a cotton ball. When the cut was more or less clean, I sighed. This wasn’t going to do. He needed to put antibiotic cream on it, to stop it from getting infected. How in the world could they not have a first aid kit here? It was a fight club! There should be supplies at the ready for the people who ended up looking like mince meat.

            “I’m really okay,” Eren repeated, wrapping his arms around my waist as I inspected his cut at every possible angle. “I always get banged up during fights. I’m used to it.”

            “It doesn’t matter if you’re used to it. You should at least have a first aid kit here.”

            He looked up at me, pressing his chin against my chest. His eyes never failed to astound me. They were gorgeous. “Why? No one cares about seeing to my wounds after the fight.”

            “Come again? _I_ care. I don’t want you to get an infection just because you feel like being a tough guy, and you will get an infection one of these days if you keep this up.”

            Eren grinned. For some reason, he looked pleased. “You sound like a worried boyfriend.”

            I opened my mouth to deny this, but then I realized that he was right. I _did_ sound like a worried boyfriend that wouldn’t stop his nagging. Mortified, I wiggled out of his grasp and pretended to be absorbed in the task of cleaning up the bit of mess I’d made. Why was it so impossible to keep myself in check around him? When he was near, everything I felt came rushing out of me. I couldn’t understand it. In the past, whenever I was interested in someone, I kept my feelings buried. It was easier that way, because I was too shy and awkward to do much else. But with Eren, everything was different.

            “You know why I was waiting for you by the stairs instead of out front?” Eren asked.

            I stopped what I was doing. “No. Why?”

            “On my way out, a guy that is a regular at the club stopped me. He asked me out, which wasn’t anything unusual. The unusual part was that I told him I was taken, that I had a boyfriend. It came naturally, even though we haven’t been seeing each other for that long and we’re just dating.” Words failed me. I didn’t know what to say, but that didn’t matter, because he continued, “So, how about it, huh? Want to be my boyfriend?” He ran his palms over my hips. “I’m an awful person, horrible even. I don’t care about anything, but, god, I want you. I do, more than you know.”

            I gripped onto the front of the sink to keep myself upright. “I—You haven’t been awful to me.”

            “No, I haven’t. You’re different.”

            “W-were you awful to Izzy?”

            He sat back with a guarded expression. “No. I gave up everything for her and my mom. Everything.” He laughed bitterly. “They ruined me, turned me into the emotionless bastard that I am today, but now Isabel treats me like I’m the monster. How convenient for her.”

            I regretted bringing her up. He looked so dejected, his shoulders slumping forward in defeat.

            _What did you do to him, Izzy? What are you hiding from me?_

Suddenly Eren stood up. “It’s fine. You don’t have to answer. Come on. I’ll take you home.”

            “Wait,” I said, grabbing him by the wrist. “I want to be your boyfriend.”

            “I don’t need you to agree out of pity—”

            “I’m not agreeing out of pity. I really like you.”

            “What about Isabel?”

            I sighed. “I don’t know what she expects from me anymore. She prefers to pretend that everything is okay, rather than to tell me the truth about you. She’s been acting so strange since I met you, almost like she feels guilty about something. I don’t know what to think about it anymore, but she can’t dictate how I feel. She’s my best friend, and I love her, but I can see that she’s hurt you. That much is obvious.”

            For a long while, the both of us remained quiet. It was heavy and thick around us, like it was a physical thing in the room.

            Finally Eren whispered, “I’ll give her one last chance to tell you, but after that, I’m telling you everything myself.”

            “Okay,” I said, taking his hand. His entire body was shaking and I got a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

            Who was I going to lose by the end of this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm sorry for dragging out the drama with Isabel, but it will be addressed soon. But before then, we get the babes dressing up for karaoke night. I'm looking forward to it. ;)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

By the time Friday came around, I was so unprepared for karaoke night that I considered telling Armin that I’d rather dress up as one of the Teletubbies than to wear anything that even resembled leather. Of course that idea lasted up until I saw him when I got to work that evening. He approached me with such enthusiasm that I couldn’t bear to tell him no. So, ten minutes after I arrived at Club Rose, I was in Armin’s dressing room. He had sat me down in a red accent chair as he gathered up supplies, which sounded ominous and made me nervous. I couldn’t even imagine what he was going to put me in. It would no doubt reveal a lot of skin, but that wasn’t a problem. I’d made up my mind on how to deal with this: I would hide in Mikasa’s office for the rest of my shift, because no amount of begging was going to get me in that cage tonight.

            While I waited for Armin as he went through clothes that hung on a rolling rack, I glanced around his room. He kept it tidy and neat, and it resembled something that you would see in a music video. There was a rather large lighted vanity table pushed up against the east wall, and to the right of that, a red leather couch. Everything looked expensive. For a moment, as my eyes wandered over a set of round stools, I pictured my own dressing room. Doing that was useless, though. I’d given up the position for the next male cage dancer and that was that.

            “This is perfect,” Armin exclaimed as he whirled around to show me a seemingly harmless white button down. Then he added a dark-brown leather vest and jean shorts that would provide little coverage to my behind. “What do you think? Just envision yourself in this outfit while wearing a cowboy hat and leather chaps.”

            “Leather chaps?”

            “Oh, yes, leather chaps that are skin tight. Now get undressed.”

            I stared at him. He stared back. “In front of you?”

            “Yes. We’re both men. You have a dick, and so do I. I want Jean’s package. You want Eren’s. So we have nothing to worry about here, now do we?” He winked.

            As I lifted my shirt over my head, I grumbled something about him being too blunt about me wanting Eren’s package. He waved me off and told me that everyone knew I was barking up that tree. I chose to ignore him after that, focusing on wiggling into the jean shorts that hugged my upper thighs like a vice. My butt cheeks were hanging out the back and I knew that the leather chaps would do nothing to cover up that part of me. They would remain exposed for the rest of the night. I turned my head to look at Armin over my shoulder, ready to argue with him about this ridiculous outfit, but just as I went to speak, Eren came waltzing into the room…and stopped.

            His mouth dropped open, a series of unintelligible sounds leaving his mouth as his eyes took in every inch of me. I would’ve been flattered by his reaction if I weren’t downright mortified. I had no shirt on. In fact, the only article of clothing I was wearing were these comical jean shorts that didn’t leave anything to the imagination. Though, judging by Eren’s expression, he had imagined plenty. That made me want to lunge out of the room, or at him, but I couldn’t budge a muscle. I remained immobile. The one thing I managed to do was clap my hands over my ass in a weak attempt to shield myself.

            “Excuse you!” Armin snapped, blocking me from view by coming to stand behind me. I used this opportunity to turn around. “Do you not know how to knock? You just ruined the great reveal I had planned.”

            Eren cleared his throat. It seemed to take a lot for him to speak. “There’s no way in hell I could ruin that.”

            Blushing to the tips of my ears, I gazed at him over Armin’s shoulder. Now that I was hidden from view, and I wasn’t about to die from the sheer embarrassment of being seen half naked, I noticed that he was wearing a cowboy hat and ripped jeans. That’s all he wore, aside from his brown Western boots. Suddenly my attire for the night made perfect sense. Armin was putting us in matching outfits.

            Cowboy boyfriends.

            Armin _shoo_ ed Eren toward the door, flapping his hands as though he were trying to scare off a bird. “Get out. Get out. When I’m ready for you, I’ll call you.”

            “Fine, but make sure you guys don’t go anywhere without being escorted by a bouncer,” Eren said. Then he looked at me and added, “Especially you.”

            “Why ‘especially me?’” I asked.

            “Because if anyone tries anything with you, I’ll do more than just show them to the door, and Mikasa won’t be too thrilled about that.”

            “No one will try anything with me.”

            Armin stopped what he was doing to shoot me a look. “Honey, please, more than half the people here would serve your ass over rice and would help themselves to seconds. You won’t be leaving this room without an escort, a.k.a. the cowboy you’d like to ride all the way home.”

            I gaped at him, unbidden words spilling from my mouth, because an image had sprang to mind the second Armin said _ride._ “I-I have no intention on riding anyone home!” I blurted, but that did nothing to rid me of the image of Eren’s taut abdominal muscles flexing beneath my splayed fingertips as he thrust up into me.

            I needed to stop thinking about this.

            “Sure you aren’t,” Armin teased and then pointed at Eren. “You. Out. Come back in fifteen minutes to pick up your little cowboy.”

            Eren looked too pleased to have me called his little cowboy. He couldn’t stop smiling. “Okay, I get it. I’ll leave already.”

            With him out of the room, I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding. For the rest of the night, I’d either have to walk around in this get up, or stay confined to Mikasa’s office. Staying behind closed doors was tempting, a salve on my wound, but so was the look on Eren’s face when he first saw me in these shorts. I’d never been one to feel comfortable showing off my body. Confidence was something I lacked since I was a kid, in almost every aspect of my life, but the way Eren looked at me... I couldn’t help but feel a bit sexy, which made me want to laugh.

            He was changing me, and I didn’t mind it.

            I turned to Armin. “What are you waiting for? Let’s do this thing.”

 

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed and ready to go. I didn’t dare look at myself in the floor mirror beside the vanity table in fear that my newfound confidence would crumble at the sight. I was feeling good, but not _that_ good. After all, my ensemble included an embroidered white button down, teeny tiny jean shorts, a vest, and brown Western boots. The leather chaps and cowboy hat were additions I didn’t want to linger on, because they felt ridiculous on me. Hell, the whole thing felt ridiculous, but I chalked that up to inexperience—you know, anything to get me out of this room without cease and desisting the second someone other than Armin saw me.

            “On second thought,” Armin began, tapping his index finger on his bottom lip as he circled around me, “let’s skip the vest.”

            I shook it off, grateful to be relieved of it. “Be honest. Do I look horrible?”

            “You look yummy as hell. Didn’t I tell you the night we met that you could pull off any look? I wasn’t bull-shitting you. And even if you don’t believe me, did you not see Eren’s jaw hit the floor when he saw you? That’s concrete proof.”

            I pressed my lips together, trying (but failing miserably) to hide a smile. “Yeah, I did notice that.”

            “Exactly.” He swatted at my butt. “Now get out of here so I can get dressed. Eren is probably waiting for you by the door like a lost puppy dog.”

            Giving him a small roll of my eyes, I left the room to find Eren leaning up against the wall out in the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest. He hadn’t heard me come out, so for a couple of minutes, I just looked at him. In spite of the outfit he wore, he was the picture of serenity, with his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted. I had the strongest urge to kiss him, to leave marks on the tan skin of his neck, but instead I tapped him on the shoulder before taking a step back. As his eyes opened up, I asked, “Do I look as ridiculous as I feel?”

            “Oh, fuck,” he groaned in a husky voice that made me melt on the spot. “You look—wow.”

            “Really?”

            “Yeah, really.” He grabbed both of my hands, laced our fingers together, and pulled me to him. I half expected his hands to wander, but they didn’t deviate from my waist. “Did Mikasa tell you what she wanted you to do tonight?”

            “She told me to have fun, that karaoke night is a time to let loose and bond with your coworkers.” I shrugged. “Or, if I’m being stubborn, I could spend the night going through bills.”

            Eren flicked the cowboy hat I wore. “Bills can wait. Karaoke night comes only once a month. Every person who works here gets to choose a theme for it. Tonight was Marco’s turn. He picked a Western theme, as you can tell, so we’re all walking around in cowboy outfits.”

            “Oh? I thought that Armin was having fun putting us in matching outfits.”

            “No, but that’s something he would do. The club is going to open up soon, so we should head over to the bar before the crowd comes in.” Eren took my hand then and led me down the hallway toward the main floor. I wasn’t thinking about the clothes I was wearing, or the people who were about to see me in them. I was thinking about how good it felt to have my hand in his. I couldn’t remember feeling this way with my ex, who Izzy had called “the sweetest and kindest gentleman,” and he had been. We got tired of each other real quick though. He was too consumed in his work, while I was too worried of disappointing him. I broke it off and he didn’t even care enough to pretend that it hurt to lose me.

            The memory stung, but not like it used to. Now that I was with Eren, I understood that my past relationships were one sided. I’d always cared (maybe a little too much), but they hadn’t—not enough anyway. Eren was different in that sense. He didn’t let me hide away in myself. Whenever I attempted to conceal what I was feeling, he’d poke at me until I told all. He wanted to know everything about me, just like I wanted to know everything about him. We were in this relationship together, which is why I dreaded meeting with Isabel tomorrow. What was she going to tell me?

            On the dance floor, Mikasa stood analyzing the stage with her hands on her hips. A karaoke machine had been set up and soon everything would be in full swing. There would be tons of people taking the stage tonight, singing their hearts out for the sheer enjoyment of singing without a care. I was excited. I had no intention on getting up there myself, because I knew that I would make a fool out of myself, but I was looking forward to seeing the people who were brave enough to sing in front of a bunch of strangers. It was always easier to watch than to do.

            That motto was depressing. I needed to change it, but in order to do that, I needed to stop watching and start doing. And that was always easier said than done.

            When Mikasa noticed us standing there, she said, while pointing at Eren, “You’re singing tonight.”

            Eren’s immediate response to that was, “Hell fucking no.”

            “Why not? We’re all going up there. Me, Armin, Jean, Marco—basically everyone who works here.” That’s when she shot me a look. “Levi, you should go up too. Join in on the fun.”

            “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” I said, imagining myself staring out at the crowd with wide-eyes, microphone clutched tight in my hand as I panicked, unable to utter a single lyric. The thought alone sent a shiver down my spine. No thanks. That was not something I wanted to experience tonight, or any other night.

            So much for doing.

            “Well, it didn’t hurt to try,” Mikasa said with a small shrug of her shoulders. “Eren, you need to get up front. Jean will need your help. There’s quite a crowd waiting to come in, but before you go, put your damn earpiece in! How many times do I have to tell you this? It’s the only way you can communicate with the other security guards. Last time you didn’t wear it, Armin threw a fit.”

            Eren waved her off. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll put it on. Calm down.” He turned to me then, leaning in close as he whispered, “If you decide to go up in the cage tonight, I’m all yours. Handcuff me. Tie me up. You can do anything you want to me. I’ll allow it.”

            My initial reaction was to cover my face with my hands, but with monumental effort, I managed to suppress the urge. I knew that Eren found me attractive, had seen it countless times in the way he looked at me, yet I had never done anything about it—didn’t really know how to do anything about it. I wasn’t good at being seductive. The mere thought of trying to be sexy made me want to crawl under a rock. With how I became a stuttering mess with just the mentioning of something sexual, I didn’t think I could pull it off. Then I remembered the other night, when he told me that if I were actually trying, he would simply fall to his knees and do whatever I say. Somehow that gave me a sliver of confidence to work with.

            I was aware that Mikasa was looking at us, but for the time being, I didn’t care. I cupped the back of his neck and pulled him down to eye level. “I guess you’re all mine then,” I whispered into his ear in a low voice. Satisfaction welled up in me when a shiver went through him. “I’ll meet you in the cage when it’s time. Now go out front.” I released him, hoping I didn’t cower and apologize the instant his eyes met mine.

            But Eren never moved.

            Without leaning away, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I got a brief view of Mikasa smirking, and then my vision was filled with nothing but the floor as he carried me off. He made it as far as the stairwell before he had me pressed up against the wall, his mouth on mine, searing and possessive. My response was immediate. I tangled my fingers in his hair, drawing a needy groan from him that sent my hips surging forward, searching for friction, _needing_ it, badly. It was an unconscious action, one that I hadn’t planned, but when his hips moved against mine with an insistence that had me breathing in hot little moans, I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. Not when it felt this good.

            I wrapped my legs around his waist, my hips never ceasing their movement. I could feel him there against me, hard and throbbing. It drove me crazy with want.

            “Shit,” Eren breathed, his ragged breath hot on my neck.

            In my desperation, I took his face between my hands and drew his mouth back to mine. This time he was as out of control as I was, tongue pushing past my lips in a way that demanded me to succumb. I did so without hesitation, wanting him to take control. The moment I did, he gathered up my wrists in his hand and brought them up to pin them above my head. The new position stretched out my torso, making my back bow off the wall and my erection press into his. A cracked cry tore from my throat, loud in the otherwise silent stairwell, but I was too far gone to care.

            “Eren,” I said in a gruff voice, movements growing frantic. I don’t know how far we would have taken it if it weren’t for the loud, high-pitched ringing that emitted from his pocket. The sound of it snapped us back to reality.

            Eren leaned back with tempting kiss swollen lips and grumbled, “Goddamnit,” then looked at me. “It’s my earpiece. Jean must’ve put something right up against his to get my attention.”

            _Well, he got it,_ I thought.

            The world refocused slowly, diluting the lust-filled haze I was in seconds ago. He lowered me to the first step, and it surprised me that my legs could hold my weight. They were shaking. All of me was shaking. I was only somewhat aware of him sliding the earpiece into place and muttering something to Jean. My thoughts were still muddled, caught up in a fog that he’d created by the mere touch of his lips.

            I caught the end of his conversation, which went something like, “Fuck. All right. I heard you. I’m coming.” Then to me, “I have to go up front. Jean can’t open the doors to the club without me. It would be too dangerous.”

            I nodded, but didn’t say anything.

            “Levi,” Eren said, sounding panicked. “Did I take it too far? I—”

            “No. I would’ve taken it farther,” I confessed.

            He groaned like he was being tortured. “Come on. Let’s go before I can’t. You can stay behind the bar with Marco until it’s time to go up in the cage. Are you sure about going up there tonight?”

            “Yes.”

            “Then I’ll see you in there.”

 

Hours passed, people hustling in and out of Club Rose all the while. Dozens of them had taken the stage by now, some singing as though their lives depended on it, while others went up there just for fun and sang horribly. I watched all of it from behind the bar, where Marco kept mixing up drinks for customers. For the most part, I let him work without interruption, but when another half hour ticked by, I asked, “When does Armin go up?”

            Marco smiled that genuine smile that was too friendly not to return, his freckles softening his features. “Soon.” He pointed to the dance floor. “Do you see Ymir?” I did. She was walking around with a hefty plastic jar heaved up on her shoulder. “She’s collecting everyone’s voting slip. Once she knows which bouncer the crowd wants up in the cage with Armin, she tells Mikasa, and everything begins after that. It’s a really big deal. A lot of people show up for it.”

            “Who usually wins?” I asked.

            “It’s almost always Eren. The crowd likes him best.” An older woman with blonde hair came sauntering up to the bar, demanding a martini before she even had time to sit down. Marco got to work right away. Once he set the drink down in front of her, he turned back to me. “Armin told me that you might go up tonight. That would be a nice change. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Armin is amazing, but people are always yearning for a new face. Mikasa’s been looking for another male dancer for a while now, but with no luck. She’s picky on who she wants up there.”

            “I’m still surprised that she was willing to give me that position,” I said.

            “Why? Since you started working here, there have been quite a few people asking about you, both regular customers and coworkers.” He laughed. “That’s no surprise, seeing as Eren gloats about you being his boyfriend.”

            Heat rushed to my face. “He gloats about me?”

            “Oh, yeah. He won’t shut up about you, but it’s a nice thing to see. He’s usually not like this with anyone. I’m glad that he’s happy with you. He’s been through a lot.”

            There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, but I was distracted when I heard someone tapping their finger on a microphone. The sound reverberated around the club, and then Mikasa’s voice came over the speakers. “The votes are in. Are you guys ready to bring Armin out?” she boomed. The crowd’s response was instantaneous. They hollered in approval. “We have a special surprise for everyone tonight. As you may have noticed, we asked you to vote for two bouncers, rather than the usual one. That’s no mistake. Tonight we’re bringing out another male dancer!” Everyone— _everyone_ —yelled in their excitement. “Should we bring him out?” The yells grew to an unbearable level.

            “Levi!” I heard someone shout. I scanned the crowd. Armin was wading through people with Jean right behind him. When he saw me looking, he said, “Get your fine ass over here! We’re doing this!”

            Ready or not, it was time for me to go up in the cage with Eren.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH! Next chapter is going to be fun and a bit smutty (maybe a lot). Take note in the shameless smut tag. It's there for a reason, but I'm too excited for this, because I've been waiting for Levi to get up in that cage, and now it's here. 
> 
> On another note, I've been getting a lot of questions on when I update, and the answer to that is once a week, on Friday's. If you'd like to receive an email notifying you when I post a new chapter, subscribe to this fic. The subscribe button is up top. :)
> 
> As always, I'm very grateful for the kudos and comments I receive. They always make me happy.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not only is this update a day late, but I also had to bring it to a close before the smut could happen. *apologizes profusely*  
> Well, at least next chapter we know for sure that there will be smut galore, and the chapter after next, the confrontation with Isabel. Whoo, sometimes I forget that the story can get away from the author like it has a mind of its own. 
> 
> But I hope you enjoy. :)

It occurred to me, as Armin reached the bar in a flurry of excitement, that I was rushing into this blind. I had no prior experience as a dancer, and I didn’t have the slightest clue about performing in front of a crowd. Even though I knew these things before I agreed to go up in the cage, it hadn’t hit home until right now. What was I going to do once I was hovering above hundreds of people? Although the thought of having Eren handcuffed and at my mercy was tempting, it wasn’t going to solve the problem of me being unable to shake my hips without dying internally. I wasn’t cut out for this type of thing, yet I still found myself climbing over the counter to join Armin and Jean on the other side of the bar. No matter what I was feeling, I wouldn’t let myself back down from this, not after Mikasa announced that there would be two male dancers out tonight.

            As I attempted to appear confident, ready for anything that could be thrown my way, Armin reached out and grabbed the front of my top. I looked down at his hands just as he brought them apart, ripping my shirt wide open with the harsh action. “Armin, what the hell?” I squeaked in surprise, staring at my exposed chest.

            He paid no attention to the question, simply demanded, “Take off the chaps.”

            “What?” Now I was alarmed.

            “They’re too restricting. You won’t be able to dance in them. Now take them off. We don’t have a lot of time to work with here. Eren’s already up on stage.”

            It was the one thing he could’ve said to get me to move. Swallowing down my embarrassment, I removed my shoes in order to get the leather chaps off. When I was free of them, my legs bare for all to see, I put the boots back on and said, “That doesn’t explain why you tore my shirt.”

            “That was to tease Eren. He’s already going crazy. Just wait until he sees you now.” He took the chaps from me and tossed them to Marco. “Take care of those for me, hun”

            “Sure thing,” Marco said.

            With a smile that could brighten the darkest room, Armin took my hand and pulled me into a swarm of strangers. Jean was right in front of us, shoving people aside if they so much as stretched out their hands in an attempt to touch either Armin or me. I was stunned by his strength. I really shouldn’t have been. He was Eren’s right-hand man, the person Mikasa called whenever there was any trouble with drunken patrons, and now that I saw him in action, that came as no surprise. With him guiding us through the crowd, I felt relatively safe in my almost nonexistent jean shorts. But even that couldn’t quell the panic that was threatening to surface.

            The closer we got to the stage, the heavier my legs became. It felt like someone had tied bags of sand to my ankles, making it nearly impossible to walk. I knew it was all in my head, but I couldn’t shake the feeling. In fact, if Armin weren’t holding my hand in a near death grip, I would’ve slinked off by now. I needed time to regroup, to rethink this whole situation, but just as my panic reached its peak, I saw Eren on stage and everything fell away, suddenly unimportant. Seeing him gave me immediate relief, because I knew that he wouldn’t let me fail at this; neither would Armin.

            “There’s your man!” Armin yelled loud enough to get Eren’s attention. His multicolored eyes found mine in the crowd, and a stunning smile lifted the corners of his mouth. I never felt more proud to claim someone as my boyfriend before. I even found the courage to wink at him, which made his smile grow wider.

            After a while of Jean fussing around, he cleared an area in front of the stage. He kept it that way until Eren leaned forward and offered me his hand. I grabbed onto it and let him hoist me onto the stage. He sent out menacing vibes to the people who pawed at my legs, but still they kept on touching. One guy even managed to snag my thigh in his sweaty hand, but Jean was quick to grab him by the shoulder, tightening his grip until the man grimaced and released me.

            “No touching, asshole,” Jean muttered with a sinister smile on his face. Armin beamed at him, not at all alarmed by the smile that looked like it could kill on contact. I was just grateful to be on the stage now, away from the many prying hands that wanted at me.

            “Are you okay?” Eren asked once I was settled, looking me over.

            “Yes, I’m fine.”

            “Are you sure?”

            I nodded. “Yes.”

            “What happened to your shirt?” He eyed my bare torso in a way that made me think he wasn’t too concerned about the shirt.

            “Armin ripped it,” I admitted with a shrug.

            “That bastard is aiming to kill me.”

            Before I could comment on this, Jean boosted said bastard (I didn’t really think he was a bastard) onto the stage. Recognizing him right away, the crowd commenced their chanting of his name. Armin went into performer mode at the sound, giving his hips a little shake as he blew everyone a kiss, which elicited whistles and shouts from various people. Content to let him take the spotlight, I stood there watching him. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong until he shot me a glare that could freeze hell over. I gazed at him questioningly— _What? What is it?_ —and he wiggled his hips in a suggestive way.

            “He wants you to shake your ass,” Jean explained as he lifted himself up onto the stage. It was then that I noticed he was shirtless. I wondered if that was some sort of dress code for the bouncers on karaoke night. “Introduce yourself to the crowd and what not.”

            I glanced up at Eren and he confirmed this with a nod of his head, but added, “You don’t have to. Mikasa will introduce you here in a minute.”

            I was all too willing to wait for Mikasa to take over, but Armin had plans of his own. In a flash, he was standing in front of me with a wicked glint in his eyes that promised trouble. I was about to explain that I’d let him put me in this absurd cowboy outfit, rip open my shirt, and relieve me of the leather chaps that kept my appearance somewhat modest, so no, I wasn’t going to let him convince me to introduce myself, but he grabbed onto my wrist before I could even utter a single protest. With ease, he twirled me around, putting every inch of my body on display for anyone that was looking. Heat flooded my face, but all I could do was go along with it.

            Mikasa must’ve taken that as her cue to speak, because she lifted the microphone to her mouth and said, “Meet our new male dancer for the night: Levi!” I expected no response from the crowd; even going as far as imagining crickets chirping in the awkward silence that would soon follow, no doubt. So I was startled when everyone started to clap and shout in approval. “Who will end up in the cage with him tonight? How about we find out by announcing the winners? Ymir?”

            Ymir came strolling onto the stage with a piece of paper clasped in her hand. She was wearing black jeans and a sports bra that matched, but nothing else covered her slender frame. I guess the topless thing really was a dress code for the night, or maybe it was something the bouncers had decided on.

            “Can I have all the bouncers line up behind me?” Mikasa asked as she received the paper from Ymir, who took several steps back to join Eren. Jean was next to get in line, and then the two remaining bouncers followed: Thomas and Reiner. I hadn’t spoken to Reiner since his fight with Eren, and I didn’t plan to any time soon. I went out of my way to avoid him after Armin told me that he worked here. For some reason, he made me uneasy.

            Unfolding the piece of paper, Mikasa’s eyes skimmed over what was written there. She smirked. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Eren landed a spot, but who earned spot number two?” There were quite a few people who screamed out Jean’s name, sounding desperate, but he didn’t so much as bat an eyelash in response to their harsh cries. He remained stone-faced. I could practically hear Armin drooling. “Jean is right, so why don’t the two winners come on up here?” Both Eren and Jean stepped up when she gestured to them, hands clasped behind their backs. “Now the question is which dancer will end up with who?”

            As I stood there, I willed my heartbeat to slow down. Of course I would end up with Eren, that’s what this whole night was about, but I couldn’t help but worry. What if Mikasa let the crowd decide? Would they pair me with Jean? Oh, jeez. If that happened, I would definitely die of embarrassment. There was no doubt about that.

            “Should we put Eren in with Armin? Like usual?” Mikasa said into the microphone, like she was more than ready to make my worst nightmare come true. “Or, should we try out something new? How about we put Eren in with Levi?”

_That’s the idea!_

            I don’t know what I expected from the crowd, but when they hollered loud enough to make me want to cup my hands over my ears, I knew it wasn’t that. Relief flooded through me in the same instant Eren came and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. Some unfamiliar emotion possessed me in that moment, because I tilted my head back and stood up on tiptoes in order to press my lips to his, uncaring of the many eyes on us. His hand traveled up my bare chest until it came to rest beneath my jaw, angling my head just so, but before he could deepen the kiss, Armin tapped on my shoulder.

            When I looked at him, a little peeved that he chose now of all times to interrupt, he said, “Kiss him all you want in the cage, but right now you need to get up there. We can’t keep everyone waiting. Oh, and here.” He slipped two things into my hand: a pair of black furry cuffs and an earpiece. “Put that on. I’m going to give you instructions, and you better follow them. Now go and have some fun with your cowboy.” In his free hand, he held another pair of furry cuffs. It seemed that he was going to have some fun of his own.

            I turned around to face Eren and ran the pads of my thumbs over his wrists. Although I wanted to see him handcuffed, I wasn’t sure if I was willing to sacrifice his ability to touch me while we were in the cage. Then again, if he were able to get his hands on me in such a confined space, things would probably get heated up too fast. Unless I wanted to give the crowd a lot more for their money, I would have to handcuff him to keep temptation to a minimum. So, with my mind made up, I led him toward one of the two cages that had descended onto the stage. I pulled open the metal door, and gestured for Eren to go inside.

            “Are you feeling okay?” he asked as he stepped into the cage.

            I nodded, even when I was all too aware of the hundreds of people watching my every move. “I’m good.”

            “If that’s the case, then how do you want me?”

            I swallowed hard. Did he have to put it that way? “Um…”

            “I can help you with that,” Mikasa said, coming to stand behind Eren, although the bars were still between them. “Put your hands through the bars.”

            “Oh, fuck you, Mikasa. Why would you even suggest that?”

            Instead of looking angry at his choice of words, she looked a little too pleased with his reaction. “Because we have to make this as unbearable for you as possible. Consider it payback for never having fun when you went up in the cage with Armin.”

            “I’m not interested in Armin,” Eren said. “Why would I put on a show for people I don’t care about?”

            Mikasa scoffed. “You just stood there like a statue every time.”

            “Yet people kept on voting for me to go up there with him.”

            “Because of your looks,” she said. “But now you’re going to be up there with someone you want, and I’m going to enjoy watching you struggle, because you won’t be able to lay a finger on him.” As if sensing his indecision, she reached through the bars and snagged his wrists. With strength I didn’t know she had, she pulled his back flush with the cage and snapped on the cuffs before he could so much as mutter a curse. But mutter curses he did. “Have fun, and put that on.” She waggled her fingers at the earpiece I held, and then hopped off the stage.

            “Goddamnit,” Eren grumbled. He tugged on his wrists, but met no leeway. That kind of excited me. He was at my mercy.

            After that everything but him blurred into nonexistence, the sound of the crowd dying away. It was nothing more than background noise that was easily ignored. For the next five minutes, it was just the two of us.

            I stepped into the cage and pulled the door shut behind me. I had no idea how I looked in that moment, but something in Eren’s expression changed. He gazed at me with rapt attention as I approached him, those incredible eyes of his smoldering with lust. Overhead, the lights dimmed to a sultry red and washed everything scarlet. I hardly noticed it, keeping my attention on Eren and Eren alone.

            “Fuck,” he breathed once I was standing in front of him. “Don’t look at me like that, or I’ll break these flimsy handcuffs.”

            “You’re not allowed to.” I don’t know why I said it, but I couldn’t bring myself to take it back. Not when the front of his jeans strained against his erection.

            “T-the,” Eren stammered in a rough voice that sounded nothing like his own. He cleared his throat and tried again. “The cage is about to go up. You should hold onto something.”

            “Okay,” I said. Without the least bit of hesitation, I reached out and grabbed onto his belt buckle, my fingertips brushing over the taut muscles of his lower abdomen. “How’s that?”

            His response came in the form of a tortured groan.

            The cage rocked as it was lifted from the stage, and even when I had a good grip on him, the jerk motion managed to send me flying forward. My bare chest pressed into his, and a breath rushed out of me through clenched teeth. His skin was so hot against mine and I had the strongest urge to run my hands all over his body, no matter how many people were watching us. Right now it didn’t matter. I wanted him.

            “You said you would be all mine if I got in this cage with you,” I whispered into his ear, surprised to find that I wasn’t the least bit nervous. “Does that mean I can do anything I want to you?”

            “Yes, do whatever you want.”

            The cage came to a stop and a slow, sensual song began to play. The need to touch him blotted it out, blotted everything out. I knew that I was up here for entertainment purposes, but I didn’t care about any of that. All I wanted was to pick up where we left off hours ago. It was unreasonable to act upon my desire in this type of situation, but for the first time in my life, I couldn’t control myself. So I pressed my hands to his chest and slid them down over his stomach, persuaded to keep going by the moan that parted his lips. I may be lacking experience, but that couldn’t hold me back now.

            When my fingertips brushed along the waistband of his jeans, I looked up at him. He was biting down on his bottom lip hard enough to make the action look painful. Was he holding himself back even now, when he was restrained? I had to wonder if he really could break the handcuffs that were keeping him pressed against the cage.

            Well, there was only one way to find out.

            Maintaining eye contact with him, I let my hand slip beneath the band of his boxer briefs. My palm skimmed over smooth skin and I couldn’t believe how daring I was being. I’d never touched anyone in this way, always having been too shy and reserved, even with my previous boyfriends. What was it about Eren that lured out this side of me? I knew that it wasn’t just his looks alone that was making me feel this way. It was him, plain and simple.

            “Levi…” Eren’s voice cracked as my fingertips grazed over something metallic, something that didn’t belong. For a moment, I was too startled to continue, and then he said, “It’s a piercing.”

            If that didn’t make my knees wobble.

            “Y-you have a dick piercing?” I asked, wanting to see it.

            “Yeah, an apadravya. It’s a complicated name for a simple thing.”

            “Simple? Didn’t it hurt?”

            “Not as much as you would think.”

            I wanted to argue with him on that, because he could take a punch like it was child’s play, but I was distracted when the earpiece I was holding started to vibrate. I slid it into my ear and Armin’s voice was there right away.

            “Do you know how loud I had to scream just then?” he hissed. “I told you to put it on before you got into the cage, but you were too busy sticking your hand down Eren’s pants.”

            I jerked my hand out of Eren’s boxers right away, hoping that Armin couldn’t see me blush to my very core from the other cage. “I-I’m sorry!” I shouted into the receiver.

            “Calm down. I don’t care where your hand is, but you need to shake your tush. Give the crowd a show, so first things first: Hold onto the bars on either side of you.”

            That sounded simple enough. Trying not to feel foolish, I stretched out my arms and took hold of the bars.

            “Now sway your hips to the rhythm of the music. Watch me, if you have to.”

            I turned my head and saw that Armin was in the same position as me. He was moving his hips in one fluid movement that I knew I wouldn’t be able to duplicate, not even in my dreams. It was seductive and alluring, basically everything I wasn’t. I had half a mind to tell him this, but instead I began mimicking the motion, hoping I didn’t look like an idiot.

            “Good. You look perfect,” Armin encouraged, “but stop looking down. Look at Eren.”

            He had to be crazy if he thought that I could look at Eren without losing what little nerve I worked up to do this. No matter how courageous I was feeling, I couldn’t muster up the will power to lift my gaze, so I fixed my eyes on a spot near Eren’s head. That was good enough for me, and Armin wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from where he was. At least I was still moving my hips, which was an accomplishment in itself.

            Armin _tsk_ ed into my ear like he knew exactly where I was looking, but said, “Copy what I do from here on out.”

            Glad to have an excuse to look somewhere else, I trained my eyes on the cage next to the one I was in. For a while, Armin kept to the same dance move, and then in the blink of an eye, he whipped around and bent forward, his bottom grinding into Jean’s crotch over and over. I gaped at him, even when I knew that he wasn’t paying any attention to me right now. He was far too busy giving Jean a boner that I could see from here. There was no way he was expecting me to repeat _that._ I was physically incapable of moving that way.

            “Oh my god,” I blurted, yanking the earpiece out of my ear.

            Eren chuckled. “Let me guess, he expects you to do that?”

            My eyes flicked over to him, and I was surprised to see that in my little exploration earlier, I had pulled his jeans down low on his waist. The V of muscle was too tempting. I couldn’t take my eyes off the deep curves that disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans. I wanted to drop to my knees and lick the trail.

            “If you keep looking at me like that,” Eren said, voice low, “I will break these handcuffs.”

            I couldn’t think of a single reason for him not to break them. I needed his hands on me. “Go ahead,” I taunted, ignoring the way warmth pooled in my cheeks, “because I’m going to keep looking at you this way.”

            I expected him to have a hard time breaking the cuffs, to at least struggle against the restraints for a while, but he broke them with ease. I had all of two seconds to stare at him in astonishment, and then he lifted me up into his arms, crushing his mouth to mine. His tongue parted my lips and I moaned when it moved against mine in velvety licks that made my knees go weak. When my back met with the steel bars of the cage, his hands wandered down my stomach until they reached the button of my jean shorts.

            “W-wait,” I said, breathless. “Armin can see us.” When I thought about it, the whole crowd down below us could see.

            Eren asked, “What if no one could see us?”

            “Then I wouldn’t have stopped you.”

            “That’s all I needed to hear.” Digging his earpiece out of his pocket, he put it in and said (more like demanded), “Bring the cage down, Mikasa. Now.”

            “Where will we go?” I asked.

            He plucked the earpiece out of his ear before he responded with, “The dressing room that was supposed to be yours.”

            “And what will we do?”

            “That’s completely up to you.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late update again, but this time it was my internets fault. It went down yesterday, but here we are today, so no worries. ;)
> 
> A little warning (somewhat), if you don't appreciate rimming, then I suggest you don't read this chapter. *coughs awkwardly* Go read.

The instant the cage was back on solid ground, Eren threw open the metal door with enough force to cause the hinges to creak in protest. He paused, grabbed my hand, and then both of us were out on the stage. He didn’t so much as spare a glance in anyone’s direction, just moved to the end of the stage before hopping down into the crowd that surrounded him in seconds. I thought he would have a hard time getting the people around him to cooperate, but with one threatening shout, they moved back and gave him room. When they were at a distance he was satisfied with, he turned around and held his arms out to me in an invitation I could neither ignore or deny. I crouched, aware that anyone behind me was getting an eyeful of my backside, and let him carry me down.

         As he set me on my feet, people closed in, bringing with them the pungent smell of sweat and cologne. Eren took my hand once again and interlaced our fingers. I stuck to his side as he led me across the dance floor, toward the dressing rooms that would provide us with the privacy we so desperately wanted. We were almost to the door when something broke out to the right of us. Two men were at each other’s throats, ready to fight. Thomas was there, pushing his way through to them, but I knew that he would need help and Eren was still on the clock.

         “Go,” I told him.

         “Unless you want those two guys as dead as dead can be, I suggest—”

         “Eren!” Thomas shouted, waving him over.

         “Fuck,” Eren muttered. One second I was standing beside him, the next I was in front of him, his left arm wrapped around my lower back. With his free hand, he took hold of my chin and tilted my head back. He held my gaze as he said, “I’m not finished with you. Go wait for me in the dressing room. I’ll be there once I’m done taking care of these idiots.”

         Have mercy on my soul. He was too hot to be real. “O-okay.”

         With me safely deposited in the corridor, Eren left to go help Thomas. I took a moment to catch my breath, to let everything that had just happened sink in, and then I walked to the dressing room that could’ve been mine. The door was locked. I jiggled the knob, but it was futile. I was either going to have to stand out here until Eren came back, or see if Armin’s room was unlocked. I voted for the latter. Being alone in the corridor with the too bright fluorescent lights shining down on me was a bit creepy, so I was relieved when I tried his door and the knob turned beneath my hand. I stepped into the room and saw that the clothes I’d been wearing when I came into work were still strewn over the red leather couch. It would be pointless to put them back on now. It was only a matter of time until Eren was here.

         Shutting the door behind me, I walked to the floor mirror. I couldn’t contain the groan that escaped me when I saw my reflection. Had I really gone out in public looking like this? I would never be able to live it down. I looked ridiculous.

         I was in the middle of taking off the tattered button down when the door flew open behind me. I was so surprised by this that I leaped back, my lower back slamming into the vanity table hard enough to knock down several plastic bottles that tumbled to the floor.

         “Shit. I’m sorry,” Eren said, coming up to me. He was no longer wearing the cowboy hat. “Are you okay?”

         “How…? You were gone for five minutes, if that.”

         “I knocked one of the guys out. It was easier that way.” He rubbed my lower back, dulling the ache from the hit.

         “Are you allowed to knock customers out?”

         He smirked. “Technically, no. Mikasa will be mad at me for that one, but I had to get back to you.”

         Here he was, standing right in front of me, and I had no idea where to go from here. I wasn’t any good at this and he was going to realize that soon enough. Whenever I did anything in the past with my exes, which was rare at best, I was always so awkward that they gave up more than half the time. What if Eren gave up? What would I do then?

         “What are you thinking?” Eren asked, running his thumb over my bottom lip.

         I toed at a lavender bottle that had fallen onto the floor earlier, anything to avoid meeting his confused gaze. “I’m not very good at this. The guys I was with before…they never wanted to do anything with me because of how awkward I was. S-so if you want to stop at some point—”

         Before I could finish my sentence, he took my face into his hands and forced me to look at him. “Levi, I just knocked someone out because I was desperate to get back here. How could you think that I’d want to stop? That I would even be able to stop?” His thumbs traced along my jawline as he leaned in close, his tongue giving a slow lick to the shell of my ear. The sensation made me gasp, the blood in my veins coming to a boil. “Let me show you how much I want you.”

         I clung to his shoulders, nervous but needing him all the same. “Then show me.”

         The moment the words left my mouth, he lifted me up and sat me on the edge of the vanity table with no regard for the various items that he knocked aside. With the part of my brain that was still functioning, I wondered how mad Armin was going to be with us for using his room for this type of thing, but then Eren’s hands came to rest on my inner thighs and I couldn’t think of anything. His palms moved up, traveling over bare skin until they reached the shorts that kept him from the part of me that was aching for his touch the most, but he didn’t stop. In no time at all, he undid the button and slid the zipper down.

         “Lift your hips,” he demanded in a gruff voice.

         With shaky limbs that didn’t want to cooperate with me, I complied. He slid both the shorts and my boxer-briefs down my legs, exposing everything for his viewing. I was bare before him and that’s when the self-doubt crept in uninvited. I turned my head to the side to keep my face hidden from him. I didn’t want to see his reaction. What if he was disappointed with what he saw?

         “God,” Eren said in such a way that I couldn’t help but peek at him, “you’re perfect.”

         I barely had time to look at him straight on when he grabbed my wrists and brought them up to press them against the mirror behind me, the glass cold in comparison to my heated skin. I gasped in response and he took that as an open invitation, groaning when the tip of his tongue caressed the underside of mine. The taste of him, so different from my own, intoxicated me and blurred out everything else. I no longer cared about my nakedness, no longer cared about anything. I was lost in him.

         Keeping my wrists trapped in his hand, he nudged my legs apart and pushed his hips forward. The roughness of his jeans rubbed that sensitive part of me and I ground my hips down into the table, moaning into his mouth when he kept moving, kept torturing me. After several minutes of this, my desperation grew to an unbearable level, but he didn’t pick up the pace. I wanted to beg him to hurry, to touch me, to let me touch him, but I couldn’t even focus long enough to speak.

         When Eren finally moved back, he brought his index and middle finger up to my mouth. In a husky voice that sent a shock of desire through me, he said, “Suck.”

         I coaxed his fingers into my mouth with my tongue, too mindless to care how I looked, and gave them a forceful suck. His eyebrows drew together as he watched me and I moaned around his fingers, my tongue lapping and coating them with saliva. His eyes never left mine, but his free hand slipped beneath my knee, using his hold on it to bring my leg up until my foot was resting on the smooth surface of the table beneath me. Once I was in position, he sank to his knees and I only had a moment to question what he was doing before his tongue was on my entrance.

         Surprised, I clutched onto his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin. My head kicked back and I arched up into his mouth, crying out his name. My whole body was hot, wrung tight, and I couldn’t stop driving my hips forward into the slick heat.

         “E-eren I…” I couldn’t continue, the tip of his tongue pushing into my entrance and erasing any words in my mind. Sweat beaded on my forehead as my heart pounded frantically in my chest. I needed him inside me. I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Please.”

         He didn’t react to my plea, simply added his finger in with his tongue, working me open at a pace that drove me insane. Out of sheer desperation, I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled the strands taut. A deep groan left him in response, his hot breath washing over my damp skin. Raising my head from the mirror, I looked down at him to see that he was already gazing up at me. When our eyes met, he lowered his hand to the fly of his jeans and unfastened the button. Entranced, I watched him. His hand dipped beneath the band of his boxer-briefs and I saw the head of his cock. With me watching his every move, he began to stroke himself, fast.

         If he didn’t do something soon, I was going to blink out of existence.

         “Fuck. Don’t look at me like that. Do you really want to take it that far?” Eren asked.

         “W-what?” My brain couldn’t grasp onto the words. They meant nothing to me right now.

         In one fluid movement, he stood up. “I didn’t think you’d want to go all the way here in Armin’s dressing room. I don’t have anything with me—no lube, no condom.”

         I deflated, my body sagging in defeat. I was going to die if he left me like this.

         “Armin and Jean bang like rabbits. I’m sure he has something in here. Unless you’ve changed your mind.”

         “No, I, um, haven’t changed my mind. Have you?” I asked.

         In response to that, he grabbed my wrist and brought my hand to his erection. He was so hard. “I haven’t changed my mind.” He didn’t have to search for long until he found both a small bottle of lube and a strip of condoms in one of the drawers of the vanity table. Bless Armin. I owed him one. “Come over to the couch.”

         I got off the table on shaky legs that barely held up my weight. Seeing me fumble, Eren pulled me up against him, walking backward until the leather couch was behind him.

         Before he did anything, he asked, “Are you sure, Levi? I don’t want you to feel pressured into doing this. I want you, badly, but I can wait if you’re not ready.”

         I cupped his cheek, surprised by his tenderness. This side of him was still so new to me, but it wasn’t unwelcomed. Hearing him say those words reassured me that this wasn’t just lust. Tomorrow, and the day after, he’d still be here. This wasn’t the only thing he was interested in. “I’m sure.”

         With that being said, he sat down on the couch and took me along with him. I placed my knees on either side of his legs and gripped onto his shoulders for balance. When we were settled, he uncapped the bottle of lube. I watched as he poured a generous amount of it onto his fingers, impatience making me squirm in place. No matter how hard I tried to keep still, I couldn’t.

         “Don’t hold yourself back,” said Eren, working a finger into me. “I don’t want you to.”

         I rested my forehead on his shoulder, moving my hips down onto his finger restlessly. I needed more. This wasn’t nearly enough. Maybe I should’ve been embarrassed by how eager I was acting, but right now I didn’t care about that. “Eren…can’t wait anymore…”

         “Levi, if I rush, I could hurt you.”

         For the first time, I noticed how hard he was shaking. Was he holding himself back? With what he just told me, he must’ve been, but I wasn’t looking for control. I wanted his recklessness, his sloppiness. I wanted it all. I was greedy for it.

         “You won’t hurt me,” I said, moaning when he added another finger. “I don’t want you to hold back either.”

         With his arm around my waist, he eased me down onto the couch, the cool leather beneath my back doing nothing to quell the heat coursing through my veins. My body was unbearably hot at this point, so when his fingers began to push into me in earnest, I rocked my hips without shame. Eren sat back on his heels, moving his fingers in a precise way until he hit my prostate. My entire body shook as I cried out, the sensation making my cock throb almost painfully.

         Easing his fingers out, he tore off one of the condoms from the strip of four and ripped the foil open with shaky fingers. I rose onto my elbows and watched him slip it on, his piercing disappearing beneath the purple rubber.

         “It’s purple,” I said, like he couldn’t see that for himself.

         “It’s also wild berry flavored.” He snorted. “That’s Armin for you.”

         It could’ve been tar flavored, for all I cared.

         With one hand he held his weight up, while the other grabbed the base of his member. Bending his head down, he claimed my lips in a desperate kiss as he pushed the head of his cock into me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, buried my fingers in his hair, but he kept to a slow pace that had me wiggling my hips. I moaned in satisfaction when more of him slid into me.

         “Fuck,” he panted. He pressed his sweaty chest to mine, our hearts beating fast. He was heavy, but it was a good heavy. He slid his hand down my outer thigh and hitched my leg over his lower back, thrusting in at an angle that made his piercing graze that spot inside of me. I scrambled for purchase on something, overwhelmed by the pleasure, and ended up raking my nails down his back. He arched into my touch and I was sure that I had hurt him.

         “I-I’m sorry.”

         He buried his face in the crook of my neck, breath rushing out of him as he quickened his pace. “Don’t be. I like everything that you do.” He nipped my earlobe and whispered, “You can do whatever you want to me.”

         Resting his forearms on either side of my head, he set a rhythm that made me cling onto him. I pushed my hips down greedily, gasping and writhing underneath him each time his piercing brushed against my prostate. God, he was bigger than I imagined he’d be, and so hot inside. It felt so good. I didn’t have enough presence of mind to care about how loud I was being.

         “Already…so close…” I rasped.

         Eren leaned back and grabbed onto my waist, thrusting into me hard enough to push me up on the couch. I curled my arms around the arm of the couch to keep myself steady, my spine bowing as our bodies worked together in an effort to keep him buried deep inside of me. I was on the brink of release, so close that I was almost screaming with it. Reaching down, trembling, I took myself in hand, the pulse thudding hard against my fingers. I started to stroke my swollen length, my movements chaotic, the sounds leaving my mouth delirious.

         “Levi,” Eren groaned, his voice thick and slurred.

         Arching my back on a scream, I shattered, my inner muscles clenching around him as I came. He held me in place for his thrusts, drawing out my orgasm until I couldn’t take it anymore. Only when I sagged into the couch, spent, did he follow me, shuddering as his cock jerked with his release.

         When he slumped on top of me, both of us panting as we regained our breath, I chuckled breathlessly.

         Eren lifted his head from my chest, hair a wild mess. He was so sexy. “What?” he asked.

         “I won’t be able to walk after this.”

 

\---

 

When I’d told Eren that I wouldn’t be able to walk, I didn’t actually think that I wouldn’t be able to walk.

         “Oh, God, Levi. I’m sorry,” Eren said as I shuffled slashed limped over to my clothes, even when he attempted to stifle a laugh.

         I glared at him over my shoulder. “It’s not funny.”

         “I know it’s not. I know that.”

         Ignoring him, I picked up my T-shirt and straightened up as best I could. To be honest, I wasn’t that bothered by the ache in both my hips and lower back. That was the best sex I ever had. Yet I still worried that I’d been too excessive throughout it all. I’d never been that way with anyone else before, so desperate that I didn’t even care about anything. Normally I was far too concerned about my nakedness to even move on from there, but that hadn’t been the case this time around. The second Eren’s hands were on me everything else lost meaning, became nothing.

         I was in the middle of pulling on my boxer-briefs when Eren came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned back, encased in his body heat, and mustered up the courage to ask, “Did that, you know, go as you expected it to?”

         “What do you mean by that? I don’t expect anything from you, Levi. I like whatever you give me.”

         “So you didn’t mind that I was a little bit…out there? I mean, considering I’m usually a shy mess.”

         “Levi, look at me,” he said. I turned around and forced myself to meet his gaze. “I don’t know how you were with your other boyfriends, or how they treated you in return, but I like you just as you are. Even if you would’ve been a shy mess, I wouldn’t have minded.”

         I smiled a small, timid smile. “Really?”

         “Yes.” He kissed my forehead and rubbed soothing circles into my sore back.

         “We should probably get out of here,” I said, glancing around the room. It was in shambles. All the products that had been on the vanity table were now on the floor, and the leather couch was streaked with drying sweat. Armin was going to throw a fit.

         “We should, but I want to stay with you. Come to my apartment.”

         “But I’m meeting Isabel tomorrow morning.”

         “I’ll have you home before then.”

         The thought of spending the night with him was too tempting to resist, so I said, “Okay, let’s go to your apartment.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments, kudos, and subscriptions. You guys give me life. <3


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've read my last fic, Chasing Summer, then you know that I have severe health problems. I winded up in the hospital Thursday night, which is why this update is late. I'm telling you guys this because from now on, updates will be taking a little longer than one week. I'd say a week and a few days, but never more than that. I will never go weeks or months without updating, so don't worry about that. 
> 
> With that being said, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. :)

Somehow we managed to leave the club without bumping into anyone of importance. In my current state, I considered that an accomplishment. I was hobbling around like an Igor monster from one of the _Frankenstein_ movies. Eren had offered to carry me out, but I knew that would draw unwanted attention, so I opted to walk. Although, by the time we reached my car out in the parking lot, I was more than convinced that I needed to sit down for the rest of the night. The pain in my hips was subsiding to a warm, almost pleasant ache, but that did nothing to relieve me of my limp-shuffle gait that was too embarrassing to think about.

            After I dug my keys out of my messenger bag—having to push aside a paperback novel, my leather wallet, and a pack of mint gum to find them—I unlocked the driver’s side door and sagged back into the seat with a sigh of relief. This earned me a look of concern from Eren, who was hovering outside the door like a worker bee gathering pollen. Was he that worried about me?

            “Are you okay to drive?” he asked. I nodded, adding a small smile that I hoped would reassure him of my answer. “You sure? You were limping pretty badly. I didn’t think I was that rough with you.”

            “You weren’t. I’m the one that got carried away. Plus, you’re big.” When I realized what I’d just said out loud, I smacked my hand over my mouth, embarrassed by my slip up.

            “Oh?” The tense expression he wore seconds ago melted into one of amusement. He reclined against the door and raised an eyebrow as a sinful smirk lifted one corner of his mouth. I noticed that his lips were still kiss-swollen from earlier, the color of them a deep shade of pink. I couldn’t even understand what that did to me. _I’d made them that way._ “Disappointed with that?”

            My eyes snapped up to his in disbelief, because I think everyone within a ten-mile radius of Armin’s dressing room knew that I wasn’t disappointed with that. How loud had I been back there? Loud enough to wake the dead, I presumed. Of course it wouldn’t hurt to tell him how I felt. It would be interesting to see how he reacted, so somehow I summoned up the nerve to say, “No, I’m not disappointed. Far from it, actually.”

            His eyes widened, and then he released a deep groan. “What the hell are you trying to do to me?”

            “Huh?” I blurted out, confused by his response.

            “Give me some warning next time.” He stepped back from the car and gestured to the road to the west of us. “I’ll be coming from that direction. My apartment complex isn’t far from here, just follow me there.”

            “All right.”

            He bent down, pecked me on the lips, and then walked back the way we came, toward the parking garage that was reserved for the higher-ups that worked at Club Rose. If I were a dancer, I would have an assigned parking space in there. But I wasn’t a dancer, even though, after tonight, the idea of going up in the cage again appealed to me in a way it hadn’t before. No one had reacted the way I thought they would. No one pointed and laughed, no one even commented on the fact that I wore glasses. When Armin had introduced me, everyone shouted in approval. They’d accepted me, no questions asked. Maybe Mikasa would still be willing to give me that position. I would have to ask her when I came into work tomorrow night.

            The rumbling of an engine snapped me back into focus and I glanced up to see Eren idling in the street on his motorcycle. His black shirt had ridden up on his back, revealing defined muscles that I’d felt beneath my fingertips minutes ago. I didn’t have a name for what he made me feel, a deep thrum in my heart that I had no hope of disregarding, but I was sure that I was addicted to it at this point.

 

Eren lived in a stunning loft apartment that I couldn’t believe was his. Not that I thought that he couldn’t afford it, he just didn’t strike me as a materialistic person. I pictured him having an apartment similar to my own, too small to fit much of anything inside, but that wasn’t the case here. His place was big, decorated in gray scale colors that complimented the furnishings that looked brand new. In fact, everything looked brand new; like this was a model home that no one lived in. Did he have a housekeeper that kept it this immaculate?

            As he led me to the front room, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was guiding me through a stranger’s apartment. There was no trace of him here, no personal effects that would declare this space as his own. I kept waiting to spot something that would tell me this was the place where he laid his head at the end of each day, but there was nothing, not even an ashtray.

            “You live here?” I asked, not sure why I did. If he didn’t want to tell me why his apartment looked unlived in, then that was up to him. I couldn’t force the information out of him, even when the whole thing unsettled me in a way that I couldn’t ignore.

            “On occasion.” He shrugged. “The only reason I rent this place out is because Mikasa and Armin live in the same building. They wanted me to be close to them, but I’m hardly ever here.”

            I turned to look at him, but he wouldn’t meet my gaze. “If you aren’t here, then where are you?”

            “Out. If I’m not working, I’m at the fight club. I tend to crash there at the warehouse more often than not.”

            What was he running away from? I’d been friends with Isabel long enough to know that their childhood hadn’t been an easy one. After suffering from a severe back injury, their mother had become addicted to pain medication. She couldn’t kick the habit, which winded up sending their father into an early grave. Grisha had died when Izzy was thirteen, which meant Eren would’ve been nineteen at the time—old enough to go out into the world on his own. Is that what he had done? Is that why Isabel resented him? Because he left her alone with a mother with a substance abuse problem?

            I couldn’t think about this now. Tomorrow Isabel would tell me everything that happened between them. Until then, it was pointless to jump to conclusions.

            “Show me your room,” I suggested.

            He jerked his chin to the right. “It’s upstairs.”

            Our footsteps echoed throughout the apartment as we climbed a black staircase. The whole second floor was his bedroom, the space taken up by an upholstered king-sized bed, a bedroom bench, several armchairs, a standalone tub, and a modern desk. The décor consisted of pallid grays, browns, and blacks that blended together perfectly. There was nothing of him up here either, no clothing scattered on the floor, or towel left forgotten on the computer chair. Everything was clean to the point of looking sterile.   

            While I looked around at everything, Eren walked up to a door beside the bed. When he pushed it open, I was surprised to see that it led to a walk-in closet that held an abundance of clothing. Even when there were so many to choose from, it took him no time at all to retrieve a pair of dark-gray pajama pants and a white T-shirt. He held them out to me from where he stood.

            “You can sleep in these,” he said.

            I went into the closet and took the clothes from him. “Thank you.”

            Out of nowhere he asked, “You don’t care for any of this, do you?”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Do you know how many people swoon over the thought of money and expensive things? I’ve never brought anyone here before, but if I so much as mentioned where I lived to anyone, they would go goo-goo eyes and stick to me like glue for the rest of the night. Money appeals to a lot of people, Levi. Yet you look unimpressed, even disappointed.”

            “I just—I was hoping to see more of you in the place that you lived at. Does it upset you that I don’t care for any of this? I mean, _should_ I be swooning right now?”

            He stepped up to me and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear with a satisfied grin on his face. “No. I’m glad that you don’t like any of this shit. You’re different from everyone who has been interested in me before, because you’re actually interested in me and not the things that I have.”

            “I would never be interested in someone for what they have. I’m not a shallow person, Eren.”

            “I know that. Trust me.”

            To change the subject, I shook the clothes I held. “I’m going to go get dressed. Is there a bathroom downstairs?”

            “Yes, but you could always get dressed right here,” he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous octave that threatened to make me forget my own name. If I weren’t meeting Isabel tomorrow, I would gladly take him up on his offer, knowing full well what it would lead to, but I _was_ meeting with her. My hips were already giving me trouble in the walking department, so if I allowed myself to get carried away right now, I would no doubt be showing up to her apartment in a wheelchair. The thought alone was enough to make me stand my ground.

            “I can’t.”

            “Why not?” he asked, leaning down to leave a trail of kisses from the top of my neck to my collarbone.

            _God…_

            “B-because I’m going to Izzy’s place tomorrow, and I’m already walking like an infant.” Even as I said this, I tilted my head to the side to grant him better access.

            “I see.” He pressed one last kiss to my collarbone before he leaned back. “The bathroom is right past the kitchen. Feel free to use whatever’s in there.”

            I was getting exactly what I asked for, yet a pout still found its way onto my face. I made sure to turn around before he could see it and headed for the stairs. On the first floor, I found the bathroom with ease, although it was more extravagant than any other bathroom I’d been in before. There was a luxurious walk in shower that looked as pristine as the rest of the house. I couldn’t get over how new everything appeared to be. I went out of my way to avoid touching anything as I changed into the clothes Eren had given me.

            Everything fit me big, of course, but I didn’t linger on that fact. I left the bathroom and noticed something I hadn’t seen the first time around. There was a ratty stereo on top of an entry table that was pushed up against the wall beneath the staircase. Attached to the stereo was a black iPod classic that looked to be an older model. I smiled. This was Eren. I found a piece of him in this apartment after all.

            Padding over to it, I darted a glance at the second floor, but Eren was nowhere in sight. This gave me the opportunity to slip beneath the stairs without being noticed. I felt a bit childish sneaking around like this, but I wanted to know what kind of music he listened to. In my opinion, music was another window to the soul.

            I picked up the iPod, ready to scroll through his playlists when he suddenly called out, “Just push play.”

            Startled, I nearly dropped the mp3 player. I fumbled around with it for a while before I caught it and pressed it to my chest. How in the world had he seen me? Or did he hear me creep over here? How embarrassing. Either way, it was too late to play the innocent card, so I just pushed play and listened as a slow tune came over the speakers.

            A woman’s voice followed, singing:

_Lay on your side_

_Calm and so still_

_Give me something_

_Oh, just give me something_

_I can believe in_

The song picked up with a beat that made her voice sound more wistful, more tired. The lyrics morphing into ones where she sang that if there’s a God in the sky, then to help her, to give her a sign.

            Music was another window to the soul. I always believed that, so what was this song telling me about Eren?

            That he was lost and needed direction. That he needed something to believe in, so he could keep on.

            “I listen to this song a lot,” Eren said, standing behind me now.

            Without knowing why, I turned to face him and whispered, “You’re not alone anymore.” Where was I going with this? He would probably think me crazy for blabbering that out after only having listened to one song, but something told me that he needed to hear this, so I pushed on. “You put up a front to keep everyone at a distance, because you don’t want to get hurt again. All people see when they look at you is the rough exterior you want them to see, but I know there’s a lot more to you then that. So many times you’ve shown me how kind and considerate you are, Eren. And I love that about you. I just… You don’t have to pretend with me.”

            I didn’t notice I was crying until he reached out and cupped my face. I met his gaze head on, and there was so much pain in his eyes. My heart ached for him.

            “Eren,” I said, but then his mouth covered mine, claiming it in a kiss that was different from any other kiss we shared. It felt like he was trying to put his heart into mine for safekeeping, and I let him. Let him hold me close, so close, as though he wanted to merge our bodies into one being. And it was then that I realized just how much I needed this, because both of us were broken.

 

\---

 

A sensation woke me up, luring me out of sleep. I blinked several times in the early morning light and my vision cleared enough to bring the high ceiling into focus. I propped myself up on my elbows and glanced down to see Eren pressing lazy kisses to my hip. Leaning to one side, I traced the outline of his tattoo with my index finger. From what I could see, neither of us had bothered to put back on our clothes after last night’s escapades.

            “What time is it?” I asked.

            “Nine.”

            The rosy haze I was experiencing seconds ago disappeared in the blink of an eye. I scrambled out of bed. “I’m meeting Isabel in an hour! I need to go home and shower.” I whirled around, scanning the floor in search of my clothing. “Where are my boxers?”

            “Over there,” Eren said, pointing toward the staircase.

            I hurried over and snatched them up. As I was slipping them on, I noticed his wide grin and asked, “What?”

            “I may have gone a little overboard on the love bites and hickeys.”

            “Huh?” I peered down at myself and saw that I was covered in them, like he’d been attempting to eat me for dinner. Last night I’d been so consumed in what we were doing that I hardly noticed any of this. Whenever he’d sucked on my skin, I was in ecstasy, and now this was the result. “Oh my god! I can’t cover this up!”

            He got out of bed, naked and undeniably gorgeous. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go that far. I honestly couldn’t control myself.”

            “Yeah, well, I didn’t mind, but now I’m going to have to figure out a way to hide these. They will distract Izzy, and distraction is the last thing she needs today.”

            “You could always wear a turtle neck.”

            I stared down at the red blotches marring my skin and groaned. “That’s the only option I have.”

 

I stood outside Isabel’s apartment five minutes before I was supposed to be there. The turtleneck I wore covered up the hickeys on my neck, but I knew she would figure out why I decided on this particular top. She wasn’t stupid, anything but. I just hoped that she wouldn’t use it as a way to steer the conversation in a different direction, because I needed her to tell me everything that happened between her and Eren. I wouldn’t leave until she did.

            Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell and stepped back as I readjusted the collar of my shirt. A few seconds later, the door flew open to reveal Izzy standing in the entryway in a flower pattern dress. Her hair hung loose in relaxed curls and seeing her was like taking a breath of fresh air. Even after everything, she was still my best friend, so I didn’t hesitate to wrap my arms around her when she pulled me into a hug.

            “Nice turtleneck,” she said. She smelt of women’s perfume.

            I groaned. “Can we not talk about it?”

            “Whatever you say.” She looped her arm through mine. “Come on. Let’s walk over to the lake.”

            The lake Isabel was referring to was a manmade one. It was unnaturally round, a place people went to fish at, but today it stood empty.

            We sat on a park bench that overlooked the murky water that smelt of moss and mold. After a long stretch of silence, Izzy said, “Things were bad even before my dad died. Mom was addicted to OxyContin and was swallowing down all our money. Eren was working two jobs, but still, it was never enough to satisfy her craving.” She sighed. “But then Dad died, and everything went from bad to worse real fast. We went without electricity and running water for weeks, because Eren couldn’t come up with the money to pay the bills, and any money that he made, Mom would go and buy those damn pills…” She trailed off, gritting her teeth until her jaw strained under the pressure.

            “It’s okay now.”

            She took a deep breath before she continued. “Eren couldn’t do it anymore. One morning I woke up and he was gone. There was no note, no nothing. He left without a trace, and I didn’t know what to do about it. I contacted his friends, but no one knew where he was.” She stared down at her shoes. “Then the money started coming in, wads of it. I knew it was from Eren, because he left it in the one spot our mom wouldn’t find it. I couldn’t figure out how he was making that much money, but it was enough for everything. I paid the bills, I bought food, I survived.”

            “Isabel—”

            “No, let me finish. If you stop me now, I won’t be able to.” Her hands had started to shake. “I wanted to know what the hell he was doing to earn that kind of money, so I pleaded with Mikasa and Armin to tell me. They knew where he was, what he was doing, and I finally dragged the information out of them. He was involved in illegal fighting. He was putting himself at risk for me, because he wanted to take care of me. I looked for him after that. I wanted him to come home.”

            I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and pulled her against me. She leaned her forehead against my chest, her tears seeping through the fabric of my shirt.

            “When I found him,” she resumed in a shaky voice, “he was fighting in a warehouse downtown, but it wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. He was… He was _letting_ his opponent beat him to a pulp. He didn’t even fight back. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t. That’s when I met Raúl, and he told me that, for a long time, Eren never lost a match. That pissed a lot of people off, so they offered him a lot of money”—her voice dropped to a whisper—“to beat him up.”

            My hands had tightened around her. I remembered Raúl. He was her abusive and controlling boyfriend during high school.

            “Eren was so mad that I saw him that way. He screamed and screamed at me. He told me to go home and to never look for him again.”

            “But you got involved with Raúl,” I said.

            She nodded. “I didn’t know, Levi! You have to believe me. I didn’t know!”

            “Didn’t know what?”

            “That Raúl hated Eren, that he dated me to get to Eren. I…”

            I didn’t like where this was going. This wasn’t what I was expecting to hear from her today.

            “He asked me to call Eren home, that it was an emergency,” Isabel said, the words rushing out of her. “I didn’t even think about why he wanted me to do it. I just did it. You know how he was. He would hit me… I didn’t want to get hurt, so I called Eren and when he came—when he came…”

            “Raúl hurt him,” I breathed.

            “He ganged up on him!” She was sobbing now. “Raúl and his buddies. They almost killed him, Levi, and it was my fault. It was all my fault! Eren almost died, because I was stupid, so stupid. He gave up everything for me and I almost got him killed. I can’t look at him anymore without remembering that day. It haunts me. I won’t ever be able to fix it.”

            “So you avoid him, and pretend to hate him instead.” I was mad now. “Because of the guilt you feel.”

            “I can’t face him. I can’t.”

            I leaned back and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Yes you can, and you will. You will make this right, Izzy. This is killing him.”

            “But—”

            “He doesn’t hate you,” I said, “so don’t even say it. He’s hurting, and so are you. You’re going to make this right. I’m going to help you make this right.”

            She looked at me with tears in her eyes and whispered, “Okay, Levi. Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you guys were wondering about the song I referred to, it's called Lord, Let Me Know by Lights on Moscow. You can listen to it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-hi1GPlfFk&nohtml5=False)  
> But, ah, my poor Eren. Don't worry, though, because Levi is determined to help him and Izzy patch things up. OOOOH, another thing. Next chapter, Levi will be talking to Mikasa about the cage dancer position and guess who's going to be an official male dancer?? My little babe, that's who. I'm very excited for that.
> 
> Before I go, I'd like to address fanart. I was asked if I like receiving fanarts for my fics, and the answer to that is: hell yes! I love any and all fanart I receive. It makes me incredibly happy. You have no idea.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading, commenting, and leaving me kudos. <3
> 
>  
> 
> [Tumblr](http://warriorflesh.tumblr.com/)  
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/dressed_in_darkness/)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!
> 
> So, I was asked a couple of questions that I thought I should answer on here. One being that someone was wondering if Eren was ever go to kick it up a notch in the bedroom. *stares into the camera like on The Office* Hell yes he's going to kick it up a notch. Try several notches. Back in the dressing room, that was their first time together, so he wanted to take it a little slower. But as their relationship progresses, well....... -insert smirk here-  
> Another question was is Levi ever going to take control and tease Eren. *stares into the camera yet again* My children, you have no idea what I have in store for you when it comes to Levi being a tease. Let's just say I'm going to have a little too much fun when he goes up in the cage as an actual cage dancer. The outfit I have planned for him will leave Eren aching, if you know what I mean.
> 
> Wow, I should stop while I'm ahead lol. So go on and read. ;)

It was late afternoon when I left Isabel’s apartment, the sun sinking into the eastern horizon in an orange glow. As I drove home, emotions I’d never felt before flooded through me at an alarming rate. I couldn’t think about the things Eren put himself through in order to provide for Izzy while their mother lay useless in her bed. I didn’t want to imagine him getting beaten over and over again, not lifting a hand to defend himself against his opponent. Whenever he fought someone now, he never lost. He won every single match he was a part of, and if ever he was hurt during one, he thought nothing of the bruises or gashes that discolored his face. It all made sense now. He’d been hurt so many times that physical wounds meant nothing to him. He endured them because they were nothing in comparison to the emotional ones that refused to scar over.

            He didn’t deserve all the things that had happened to him, and neither did Isabel. She had been so young when she was forced to become an adult, worrying about things that most people her age knew nothing about. But why was she allowing her guilt to tear both her and her brother apart? Why couldn’t she see that keeping him at a distance wasn’t going to solve a thing? If anything, it was creating more problems. It was going to take a lot for her to repair the damage that she had caused throughout the years, but I was going to be behind her every step of the way, because Eren needed his sister back, and she needed him.

            It wasn’t until my cell phone rang in my pocket that I realized I was driving ten miles over the speed limit. I slowed down, checked my rearview mirror to see if a cop was tailing me (there were none, to my immense relief), and then dug the phone out. Putting it on speakerphone, I sat it on my lap and said, “Hello?”

            “Hey, Levi, it’s Mikasa. I’m calling because I have a huge favor to ask of you.”

            “Okay, shoot.”

            “Do you think you can pick up some pizzas and beverages for the big meeting tonight? I thought I was going to have enough time to get everything myself, but I got caught up in some other crap.”

            “Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ll be happy to do it.”

            “Thank you. Just put it all on the card I gave you for work purposes. Four large pepperoni pizzas should do, and a few liters of soda. Oh, and a small vegan pizza on top of that.”

            I smiled. “You don’t have to get that for me. I’ll be fine.”

            “I don’t mind getting that for you, so don’t try to talk me out of it.”

            “Okay,” I said. “I’ll see you tonight then.”

            “See you.”

            I ended the call and drove to one of my favorite pizza spots, glad for the task. It would help take my mind off things and that’s exactly what I needed right now. Otherwise I’d picture Eren, bloody and bruised, awaiting the next punch to land. How many times had he let someone beat him? Did they goad him on while they were doing it? Did they kick him when he was down? Of course they did, because they were sick enough to pay him to roll on his side and do nothing while they clobbered him.

            _Oh, Eren…_

            Even if he received money for his troubles, I had no doubt that it had broken his spirit to endure something like that on several different occasions. How could it not? I couldn’t even imagine how desperate one would have to be to allow someone to pummel you. Still, in spite of everything, he never ran. As sad as it is, he could’ve left Isabel to fend for herself. She wasn’t his responsibility. No one would have stopped him if he left and never looked back. But he hadn’t. He sacrificed his well being to take care of her, and how had she repaid him? By cutting him out of her life. I knew she felt guilty for what Raúl and his friends did, but to go that far seemed unnecessary. Was there something she wasn’t telling me?

            Lost in thought, I almost drove right past the pizza bistro I was heading for. I switched lanes in a hurry, earning myself several aggravated honks from a man behind the wheel of a white sedan, and pulled into the parking lot. This place was a hole-in-the-wall, but they made excellent pizza, both vegan and non-vegan alike. I parked near the front entrance and went inside, ordering four pepperoni pizzas and a vegan calzone for me (it was cheaper than a small pizza). After I paid, I stepped outside to wait.

            The meeting would last for two hours, then the club would open at its usual time. Tonight I would no doubt be filing away papers, which seemed to be my area of expertise, according to Mikasa. Then again, I knew that she had invented this job of being her personal assistant/secretary on a whim. Back then I was going to refuse the position as a cage dancer for fear of losing my best friend. She threw the personal assistant job on the table in order to keep me around for Eren, because she knew he liked me. I had to admit that I was relieved when she offered me another job. Being a cage dancer seemed way out of my league, but now I was pretty sure that I could handle it.

            Twenty minutes passed before I lumbered back inside the bistro to pick up the pizzas. I hauled everything out to my car, which was harder than it should have been due to my stature that equaled shorter arms than most people. Being small was irritating. Then again, the difference between Eren and me made the irritation fade almost as fast as it showed up. I thought about how his hands were large where mine were not, how they were able to bear my weight with ease, and that sent a chill down my spine.

            Being short wasn’t so bad when you had a tall, hot boyfriend to compensate for it.

            Back on the road, making sure to keep to the speed limit this time around, I drove along back roads to avoid traffic. I got to the club in record time that way. As I parked in my usual spot, I noticed Reiner leaning up against his car a few spaces down, his eyes following me through the front windshield. I did not want to deal with him right now. I had half a mind to call Mikasa and ask her to meet me out here, but that seemed a little childish of me, so I did my best to ignore him as I pushed open the door and stepped out.

            “Need some help?” Reiner called as he ambled over to my car.

            _Go away._

“No thanks,” I said. “I have it under control.”

            Suddenly he was right in front of me. He was standing so close that I could feel his body heat. The smell of his cologne, too sharp and spicy, made me jolt back. The back of my head smacked against the side of my car hard enough for pain to flare out in throbbing waves.

            “You should be more careful,” he said in a mocking tone, taking a step closer to me.

            I applied pressure to the spot I’d hit and outright glared at him. “You’re too close.”

            “Am I?” His beefy fingers came to brush aside a lock of my hair, a smirk settling on his lips. “I don’t think I am.”

            I had enough of this. “Yes, you are. You need to move back. Now.”

            “Well, you’re snappy when you want to be, aren’t you? Can’t say that I mind.”

            The next thing I knew, Reiner was being slammed against the car beside mine as Eren reared up and shoved his forearm against his chest. He leaned in close and snarled, “What the fuck are you doing?”

            Reiner held his hands up, but the cheeky smirk on his face said that he was anything but innocent. “Nothing.”

            “That’s not what it looked like to me.”

            “Come on. I was just offering my assistance.”

            Eren lifted his forearm just to push it forward again. When it made contact with Reiner’s chest, the smirk disappeared. “The next time he’s forced to tell you to move back, you’re going to have a lot more to deal with than this. If he wants you to stay away from him, then you better stay the fuck away. Am I making myself clear?”

            “Crystal,” Reiner sneered.

            “Good.” Eren stepped back. “Now go help Mikasa set up.”

            Reiner didn’t respond. He pushed himself upright and stalked off in the direction of the club.

            I stared after him and grumbled, “What is his problem?”

            “Are you okay?” Eren asked while looking at the spot I was rubbing on my head.

            “I’m fine now that he’s gone.”

            “If he ever tries that shit again, you tell me right away. I don’t trust him. Never have.”

            I thought this odd, considering Mikasa had told me that everyone who worked at Club Rose was like family. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that Reiner wasn’t exactly friendly with anyone. He was always off on his own, being pissy. Even Marco—the guy who could get along with the troll under the bridge—didn’t talk to him.

            “How did he land himself a job here?” I asked, feeling bad for asking. I might not like Reiner, but that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve his job as a bouncer. He was good at what he did, because he was nothing but brute force when it came to people messing around in the club. Still, he was an ass.

            Eren walked around the hood of my car and pulled opened the passenger side door before he said, “Connie. Connie used to work here a few months back. Then he settled down with Sasha, and decided working at a nightclub wasn’t very husband-y of him.”

            “He’s married to the girl that works at the diner?”

            “Yep.” He grabbed the four boxes of pizza with ease, resting them on his forearm so he could shut the door. “I’ll have Jean come and grab the soda. Come on. Let’s go inside.”

            I quickened my pace until I was in stride with him and, since both his hands were occupied, I hooked my finger through one of his belt loops. He was wearing a dark-grey cut off shirt that exposed his torso rather nicely, but what drew my attention were those v-cut abs of his. Seeing them never failed to leave me speechless. But, no matter how attractive he was, it was the way he treated me that I liked the most. He was the whole package.

            “What’s that smile for?” Eren asked with a smile of his own.

            “I’m just happy to be here with you. Is that a crime?” I kissed his bicep (it was a very nice bicep), since I was too short to kiss his cheek.

            “No, not a crime,” he said, but the smile faltered. “How did everything with Isabel go?”

            Now it was my turn to falter. I looked up at him, saw the pain in his eyes, and murmured, “She told me everything.”

            “Did she”—he looked away and the pain in his eyes emanated outward onto his face—“say anything about where her and I stand?”

            “There’s a lot to tell you, but for the short version of it, she wants to work things out. She really does, Eren, but I think it would be wise to take things slow, for both your sakes. It’s been a while since you two were on good terms.”

            “You don’t have to tell me that.”

            There was a lot of chatter and commotion going on inside Club Rose tonight, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. We walked onto the dance floor and were greeted with a barrage of _Hello’s_ as Eren put the pizzas down on a folding table that had been set up near the bar. When Armin spotted us, he came waltzing our way, hips swaying from side to side as he did. Although, once he reached me, he said nothing, just stood there staring at me with his big blue eyes.

            “Um, hi,” I said after a while.

            “That’s all you have to say after everything you did in my dressing room? Two words: purple condom.”

            I gaped at him, mouth opening and closing as I struggled to find words to explain myself. Of course he would find out what we did. A condom and a bottle of lube didn’t just disappear into thin air, so I settled for, “I’m so sorry. I’ll buy you another pack.”

            He snorted. “I don’t want another pack. What I want is details.”

            “ _What?_ ”

            “Oh, no, honey. You’re not getting out of this that easy. You can ‘what’ me all you want.”

            “But he’s your best friend,” I said, knowing that it was a useless attempt to steer him off this path.

            “Exactly. You don’t have to write me an erotica novel about your experience, although I wouldn’t object to that. I just want to know a few things.”

            “Like what?”

            He looped his arm through mine and pulled me away from everyone. Once we were out of earshot, he said, “How was he?”

            “I am _not_ telling you that.”

            “You don’t have to. I can tell by the way you’re walking and staring at him like he’s your own personal Jesus that he had your knees wobbling for hours. Consider yourself lucky. There are some guys out there that will tear you in half and think it was a job well done.”

            I stared at him, waiting for his calm expression to give way to an amused one, but it never did. “Are you even hearing what you’re saying?”

            “Indeed I am, sugar. Now let’s get back. The meeting is about to start.”

            Everything was set up and ready to go, so Mikasa gathered everyone around the two folding tables that had been pushed together in the center of the dance floor. I took a seat next to Eren, who put his hand on my thigh, which felt nice. For the most part, I wouldn’t have anything to do with this meeting. Even when I was an employee here, I wasn’t an active part of the nightclub scene. The bouncers had to touch base on the best way to secure the club and its employees, while the dancers had to discuss choreography. I was going to be sitting here snacking on my calzone, pretty much.

            As the meeting commenced, I tried to concentrate on the topics being discussed, but since they didn’t involve me, I more or less zoned out after a while. It wasn’t until Mikasa asked, “Does anyone have anything else to discuss before we bring this meeting to a close?” that I finally focused. Now would be a good time to ask about the male dancer position. It would be embarrassing to bring it up in front of everyone, but if I put it off, I might not ask at all.

            It was now or never.

            “Uh, I have something I’d like to discuss,” I said in a timid voice.

            Mikasa turned her attention to me, her dark eyes warm and encouraging. “Yes, Levi?”

            I took a deep breath and avoided looking at anyone. “I was wondering if the male dancer position was still available. If it is, I’d like to, um, audition for the position.”

            Armin didn’t even let Mikasa respond. He squealed and yelled, “Your fine ass doesn’t have to audition! The position is yours.” He eyed Mikasa. “It’s his. Tell him it’s his.”

            “You can start training with Armin as early as tomorrow,” was Mikasa’s response.

            Everyone’s eyes were on me, I could feel them, but I kept my gaze trained on her. “Thank you.”

            “It’s me who should be thanking you. You were a hit last night, even when you didn’t stay up in the cage for a full set. A lot of people are going to be coming in to watch you once I announce that you’re going to be a full-time dancer. Which brings me to you.” Her eyes flicked over to Eren. “I expect you to behave yourself.”

            Eren grinned. It wasn’t a nice one. “I will. Unless someone touches him, then I can’t make you any promises.”

            “Ugh,” Ymir groaned from her end of the table. “Is this going to be another Armin and Jean? Because I won’t be able to control my gag reflex, if it is.”

            Armin rolled his eyes. “Oh please, like you’re one to talk. How many times has Eren pulled you off someone after they made a pass at Christa?”

            “That’s enough,” Mikasa said, knocking her fist on the table a few times. “Let’s wrap this up, so we can get this place opened.”

            The people who were still eating polished off their food in a hurry, and then we were all lending a hand at folding the tables and chairs. When everything was put away, Armin grabbed me by the arm and hurried me toward the dressing rooms. I knew why he was taking me back here, but when he pushed open the door to the dressing room that was supposed to be mine (would be mine), I still smiled like a fool. I couldn’t help it. This was really happening.

            “It’s all yours,” he declared in a singsong voice.

            I stepped inside. “I guess it is.”

 

\---

 

Right after the club opened for the night, Mikasa sent both Eren and me home. Said that we looked dead on our feet and we’d be of little use to her that way. Neither of us could argue with that. We hadn’t slept a lot the night before, maybe three hours, tops. So we did nothing to stop her when she ushered us out the front entrance with the order of getting a good night’s sleep.

            As we walked to my car, the night breeze cool on my face, I stretched my arms above my head and asked, “Are you heading home?” The thought of him going to the warehouse made me uneasy. He was in no shape to be fighting. There was a lot on his mind right now, and he was running on zero hours of sleep. If he ended up in a fistfight with someone determined to put an end to his winning streak, there was no saying what could happen.

            “I was going to ask you if I could come over to your place for a while,” he said. “I was hoping we could talk about Isabel.”

            “Oh, of course, yeah. You can spend the night, if you’d like.”

            “Going to lend me a pair of your pajamas?” There was a teasing lilt in his voice, because he knew damn well that he wouldn’t be able to fit in any of my clothing. He was too tall to have any hopes of squeezing into one of my T-shirts. He’d probably rip it right down the middle, like The Incredible Hulk, which didn’t sound half bad.

            Still, I shot him a sideways glance and said in a huff, “You can sleep in your boxers.”

            “What about you?”

            “I’ll be wearing cozy pajamas, thank you very much.”

            He laughed, a good, whole-hearted laugh. “You turn into such a sassy grump when you’re sleepy, did you know that? It’s adorable.”

            “I do not.”

            Instead of arguing with me, he swept me up and carried me the rest of the way, kissing me until everything else was forgotten.

 

It took half an hour to tell him everything, the coffee I prepared beforehand going cold by the time I was through. We were sitting at my round dining table, saying nothing. The silence was heavy, unbreakable, until Eren rubbed at his temples and said, “I never blamed her for Raúl. That bastard had it out for me the second I beat him in a match. He was the unbeatable champion before then, and losing didn’t hit him well. Sooner or later, he would’ve nailed me.”

            “That may be true, but you were completely unprepared when his gang assaulted you at your mom’s house.”

            He didn’t say anything, his jaw clenching and unclenching. “That doesn’t matter. She shouldn’t even have known that fucker. If I had kept a better watch on her, then none of this would’ve happened.”

            “You’re blaming yourself for the whole thing?” I asked, stunned. It wasn’t his fault. If there was anyone to blame, it was his mother. She was the one with the drug problem that put him in a tight spot. That forced him into a corner again and again. Addiction was a horrible, controlling thing, but she could have fought it for her kids. They depended on her. They _needed_ her, but all she needed was the pills that she gave everything up for.

            Eren pushed back in his seat and stood up. “Yes, I blame myself, because it’s my fault. Isabel was young. She was left alone with our drug addict mother, who wasn’t even our mom anymore. Of course she went to go look for me. I was the only person she had left, and that night, when she found me, I turned her away. I yelled at her and told her to never look for me again. What kind of big brother does that?”

            “You were trying to protect her. You—”

            He slammed his fists down on the table. “I fucked up! I should have found a way to be there for her. She needed me, and the most I could do was leave her an envelope stuffed with money every month. I abandoned her. Even when I was bloody and bruised, I should’ve gone home to be with her, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t stand the thought of her seeing me that way, because I wasn’t the same person that left that house. I was someone colder, someone who was heartless. All I ever felt was anger.”

            “If you wouldn’t have given her that money, she would’ve been in a worse spot then the one she was in,” I said. “I’m not saying she had it easy, but you need to realize that neither did you. The only reason you became that cold, heartless person is because you wanted to provide for your little sister, and you did. She’s alive today because of you.” He shook his head, but I pressed on, “You’re not heartless, Eren. You may have done things you regret, but Isabel knows why you did them, and she’s finally ready to move on.”

            He sagged back into the seat and dropped his head in his hands. “I just wanted her to be happy. I wanted to give her everything she deserved, but I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. And that killed me, Levi. It killed me to know that she couldn’t live a happy, carefree life, that she couldn’t be the teenager that she was.”

            I stood up and went over to him. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He was shaking. “You did the best that you could do. Neither of you lived a happy, carefree life, but things are different now. Things are better. Isabel’s in a good place, and she’s happy. She just needs her big brother back. She _wants_ her big brother back.”

            Eren slumped against me and I felt the wetness of his tears when he buried his face in my neck. I knew that a weight he’d been carrying around for so long had finally been lifted.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are precious, and I'm sorry I don't get back to comments, but I love every single person that comments. Your comments fuel me to keep writing, so thank you. <3
> 
> Next chapter will be training with Armin and I'm already laughing, because Armin is quite the character in this fic of mine. But thank you for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you begin reading, I want you all to understand my need for Levi in retro running shorts. Just, look at [this](http://www.trailrunmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Totally-Fab-Retro-Running-Shorts12.jpg) and picture him in it. Yes, it's blissful, I know.

An hour into my first dance lesson, I was sweating bullets and praying for the sweet release of death. Armin, who remained perky in spite of having danced for the past sixty minutes straight, kept counting out the beats to the racy song that played overhead. If I was going to survive this—if my _thighs_ were going to survive this intense abuse that I was putting them through—then I needed a break at once. It was physically impossible for me to keep this up for another hour. Who did he think he was working with here? Could he not hear me panting like a grandpa fresh out of the hospital?

            Lord help me.

            “Um,” I began, not at all surprised to discover that my voice was hoarse from exertion. I was in desperate need of water. “Armin?”

            Armin directed his gaze at me after that, looking cheerful. How he was capable of smiling after a grueling workout like the one we just had, I would never know. Maybe he was an angelic demon, one that would dance you straight into your grave. “Need a break?”

            _Do I need a break?! I need an ambulance._

“Yes,” I said, somehow able to retain a calm demeanor, even when I was on the verge of dying. Sweat was running down my forehead in the most bothersome way possible. It took a lot for me to resist the urge to wipe it away with the collar of my shirt, even when I was sure that the fabric wouldn’t reach my face. Before we started, he had provided me with an outfit to wear so I could get used to _certain apparel._ It basically left nothing to the imagination.

            “Okay.” He bent down and picked up the remote that controlled the stereo. With a push of a button, he turned off the music. Now the sound of my harsh breathing was evident in the silence that followed. “How are you feeling?”

            I wanted to lie, to tell him that I felt great and I’d be ready to go in a bit, but there was no way I could keep at this. I hadn’t worked out in a long time and my body was letting me know that it had enough for one day. “Uh, to tell you the truth, I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

            He burst out laughing. “Honey, we are barely getting started. How do you keep your physique if you don’t work yourself to the bone?”

            “Well, for starters, I don’t eat meat, or consume dairy. I also do yoga.”

            “Yoga is working out.”

            I shrugged. “I guess, but it’s nothing like what you just put me through.”

            “Wait a minute. How good are you at yoga?”

            “I’ve been doing it for a long time, so pretty good. I take advanced classes down at—”

            “Are you flexible?” he asked in excitement, cutting me off.

            In response, I bent down, took hold of my right ankle, and brought it back in a position cheerleaders referred to as the scorpion. Armin stared and stared at me, his face unreadable. Then he brought both his hands up to his mouth and said, in a serious tone, “You are God sent. Do you know what I can do with this? We’re getting a pole installed. You are going to dance your tight ass off on that pole, do you understand me? I need to call Mikasa right the hell now. This is happening. _This is happening!_ ” He hurried across the dance floor without another word, rushing toward the dressing rooms as though his life depended on it. I watched him until he disappeared behind the door, and then I let my leg fall back into place.

            What did I just get myself into? A pole? He wanted to have a pole installed?

            Not wanting to linger on the thought, I took the opportunity to go pick up the water bottle I’d left on the stage before we started the lesson. I drank down a few gulps and had to keep myself from chugging down the whole thing in one fell swoop. If I did that, I would wind up making myself sick. So, reluctantly, I set the bottle down and leaned back against the stage. My legs were throbbing in time with my heart. They felt like fabricated entities at this point in time, and I couldn’t even imagine how they would feel after a week of training. I just had to keep in mind that all this hard work would pay off in the end.

            I was rubbing at my shoulders to loosen up the tense muscles when I heard the last thing I wanted to hear right now: The front doors being pushed open. I stopped what I was doing and listened, hearing familiar voices. Eren and Jean. They were here.

            No! I specifically asked Eren not to come in early. I didn’t want him to see me dancing until I was ready to go up in the cage as an official dancer at Club Rose. My mortification only intensified when I remembered the outfit I was wearing. Armin had put me in black retro running shorts, knee high tube socks, and a form fitting white Tee. I did _not_ need to be seen in this, not now or ever. But I wasn’t given much of a choice, because they were both walking onto the dance floor before I could make a mad dash for the dressing rooms.

            Eren froze when he saw me standing by the stage, his eyes traveling down my body. His expression turned feral, hungry. “Fuck,” he groaned.

            Jean rolled his eyes. “Is Armin in his dressing room?”

            “Yes,” I said.

            Jean left without a backwards glance in our direction, and then it was just Eren and me. As his eyes swept back up to train on my face, desire flashed through me, raw and palpable and needy. He was staring at me with untamed passion. I couldn’t even control the smirk that played at the edges of my lips. When he noticed it, he returned it in full.

            I was the only one who could do this to him.

            “You weren’t supposed to come in early,” I said in a teasing voice.

            “I couldn’t resist, and I can’t bring myself to regret it when you’re looking the way you do.” He took a step forward, but I wagged my finger at him and he stopped mid-stride, obedient.

            “Oh no. You can stay right there.”

            Confusion flickered across his face. “Why?”

            I bit my bottom lip in an attempt to hide my smile. He was so strong, able to take down anyone he confronted, but he was clay in my hands. “Because I’m sweaty and gross.”

            “You’re anything but gross,” he said, hands clenching and unclenching by his sides as he restrained himself. I wondered how long he would stay put before he came charging over here. I wanted him to lose control, to stop being so careful with me. I loved that he respected me enough to be gentle, but god, I wanted him to shove me up against the wall. Right now, if he would.

            So, keeping my eyes on him, I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it up so I could wipe my face. His eyes snapped down to my exposed abdomen, and he released a ragged breath as I readjusted the waistband of my shorts with my free hand. I pushed them lower on my hips, revealing more skin and a small patch of hair. He groaned again and his gaze held a warning now. If I didn’t give him permission to come over here, he was going to do it anyway.

            Good. I was tired of waiting.

            “Levi,” he said, voice low, dangerous in the most delicious way. It sent a vicious chill down my spine.    

            Still, I played innocent. “Yes?”

            No more words passed between us. He came up to where I stood in long strides and took me into his arms faster than I could comprehend. My back pressed against the stage, yanking a gasp from my throat, but he gave me no time to recover. His lips were on mine in an instant, sending my mind reeling as he licked his way into my mouth. My hands shot up and wrapped around his neck. I used my hold on him to tug him down to my height, running my tongue over and under his, tasting him. He moaned deep in his throat, his hands skimming over my lower back.

            “Don’t stop,” I said into his mouth. “Touch me.”

            Immediately his hands dipped beneath the waistband of my shorts and slid down until he was cupping my ass. He squeezed and jerked my hips forward, grounding our erections together. I scratched as his neck, my lips parting on a gasp as the sensation rolled through me. He licked my tongue into his mouth, sucking on it until I was writhing against him. I needed more than this. I just had him the night before, could remember exactly how it felt to have him deep inside me, but I hadn’t had enough. I would always ache for another touch, another taste. When it came to him, I was insatiable.

            “Need you,” I said when our lips broke apart, still driving my hips forward.

            “We don’t have anywhere to go.” He kissed and sucked on my neck, even when the hickeys from the previous night were still fresh.

            “My car?” I asked. It was tiny, but I was more than willing to take my chances in there.

            He chuckled, his warm breath ghosting over my skin. “Your car is way too small for that.”

            I was about to suggest that we do it right here on the damn stage when Armin and Jean came back out. I scrambled down to my feet, flushing, but Armin paid no mind to what we were obviously doing seconds ago. He rushed up to us with his cell phone clutched in his hand and shook it in front of my face as he said, “Mikasa will install a pole if you’re willing to take pole dancing classes with me, all expenses paid. You also won’t have to undress or anything. You’ll wear the same outfits I already have planned for you, so for the love of all that is holy, tell her that you’re willing.”

            Oh, what the hell? Might as well.

            I took the phone from him and said into it, “Mikasa?”

            “You’re under no obligation to do this, Levi. I want you to know that right now. If you aren’t comfortable with having a pole installed, then I won’t do it under any circumstances.”

            “I don’t really mind. I think it would be fun.”

            Armin squealed. Jean folded his arms over his chest; no doubt thinking about how he’ll have to keep a better watch on him once the pole was put in. And Eren looked like he was in physical pain. When I looked down, I saw that his erection was still straining against his jeans. I glanced up at him and smiled. His head rolled back on his neck and he announced that I was going to kill him.

            “Okay,” Mikasa said, a smile in her voice. She’d heard Eren’s groan of agony. “I’ll have it put in this week, and I’ll book you and Armin classes.”

            “Thank you.”

            “Oh, don’t thank me. I know that you two pole dancing will bring in a whole new crowd. I’m excited for that, but I’m almost to the club now, so I’ll see you in a bit.”

            “Okay, see you.” I hung up and handed the phone back to Armin, who yanked me into a hug.

            “This is going to be great!” he yelled directly into my ear. Ouch. “Just you wait and see. We’re going to kick ass on those poles. Oh my god! The outfits we can wear! The routines we can do!”

            “Armin, you’re going to make me go deaf.”

            He smacked my ass, hard. “I’m going to go draw up some outfits before I have to get ready. You can head on home now, just make sure you’re back here in an hour.”

            “All right.”

            Turning around on his heel, Armin took Jean’s hand and dragged him back across the dance floor to the dressing rooms. I sighed and then Eren was pulling me into his arms again. He pressed slow, lazy kisses to my jaw and neck.

            “Have you eaten?” he asked.

            “N-no, but I only have enough time to go home and shower.”

            He sucked on my collarbone. “I can pick something up for you while you go home and shower. Just tell me what you want.”

            _You! I want you._

“A sub sounds good,” I said instead, twisting my fingers in his hair.

            “Mm, do you have a favorite place you like to go to?”

            “Um, there’s a little shop not too far from here. I can text you the address.”

            “Yeah, do that. Where’s your stuff anyway? Is it in your dressing room?” he asked. All I could do was nod, because my voice was officially out of order. “Okay. I’ll go get it.” With one last kiss, he left me standing there on knees that were seconds away from giving out.

            Even when I initiated something, or lured him in with my teases, it was always me that was left weak-kneed and achy. I’d lost track of how many times he had told me that I drove him crazy, yet he was still able to retain some level of control whenever something began between us. Was he afraid that he would scare me away? I thought we were passed that by now, but maybe he was still uncertain about where I stood. Insecurity wasn’t something that vanished overnight. I knew that better than anyone, so I needed to find a way to reassure him that I wasn’t going to run the second he showed me more of himself.

            A few minutes later, Eren came back out, an unlit cigarette caught between his lips. When he reached me, he handed me my messenger bag. I eased the strap over my head and let it fall onto my shoulder.

            “You can light that, you know,” I said.

            “I can wait until we’re outside.”

            I looked up at him. He was so gorgeous. Sometimes it took me aback. “All right, but I honestly don’t mind when you smoke around me. If it did bother me, I would let you know.”

            He plucked the cigarette from his mouth. “It’s a bad habit, Levi. One that I need to get over.”

            “I’m not against you quitting, but it can’t happen in the blink of an eye.”

            “It really doesn’t bother you?”

            There it was, the truth. “Really. But if you ever decide to quit, I’ll support you in your decision. Now come on. I want to shower.”

 

\---

 

I had just stepped out of the bathroom when I heard my front door close. I’d given Eren the key to my apartment before we left the club earlier. Now I stood in my bedroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around my waist. It took everything in me not to go out there like this. I had to force myself to put on a navy-blue T-shirt and jeans. Once I was dressed, I went out into the living room to find Eren glancing at the pictures I had lined on the fireplace mantel. They were of Isabel and me.

            I walked up behind him and draped my arms around his waist, turning my head to press my cheek against his back. He let out a soft sound of approval.

            “When did you meet her?” he asked.

            “Last year of junior high. She punched this guy that was bullying me.”

            Eren snorted. “Yeah, that sounds like Iz.”

            “Yep, she’s feisty.”

            He turned around and ran his fingers through my wet hair. “You should eat before we go in.”

            “Okay.”

            We went into the kitchen and he handed me a brown paper bag that he had left on the counter. I set it on the dining table, pulled out the wrapped sub, and sat down. Peeling open the wrapper, I saw that it was my favorite type of sub, filled with lettuce, avocado, cucumbers, and lettuce.

            “How did you know this was my favorite?” I asked.

            “I texted Isabel.” He sat down in the chair opposite of mine. “You said to take it slow, so I thought texting her would be a good place to start. The last time we spoke, other than her confronting me at the club, was when she called me to ask if I could help get you a job. Obviously we know how things turned out after that.”

            I grinned. “Obviously.”

            “She warned me not to even think about doing anything with you.”

            I choked on the mouthful of food I had in my mouth. When I recovered, I said, “She didn’t.”

            “She did. Said she would twist my dick off if I even looked at you the wrong way.” He laughed. “I swore to her that she didn’t have anything to worry about, because I thought I wouldn’t be interested in you. Then I saw you and, well, I was definitely interested. You were a stumbling, shy mess, and I had no hopes of resisting you. It caught me off guard.”

            “ _I_ caught _you_ off guard. I was drooling over you the second you walked into the diner.”

            “Is that so?” he asked in a husky voice.

            I looked up at him, heat crawling into my cheeks. “Don’t act like you didn’t know that already.”

            “I didn’t.” There was nothing but sincerity in his voice, but that didn’t stop me from feeling embarrassed.

            “Well now you know.” I dropped my eyes.

            “Levi?”

            “What?” I said, not lifting my gaze.

            “I promise to do right by you.” Now I looked at him, but he kept going. “I mean it. You’re amazing in every possible way, and I want to do better because of you. When we met, I was a complete mess. Hell, I’m still a mess, but I’m pulling myself together. I’m trying really fucking hard, because I don’t want to lose you. You deserve so much better than me, Levi. You do. But one day I will be worthy of you.”

            I stared at him for a long time, not knowing what to say. Then the words began to spill from my mouth, unbidden. “Do you even know how you make me feel? Before you, I had zero confidence, but you believed in me from the very first moment you saw me. With your help, I’m starting to see all the things I’m capable of. I mean, look at me. I’m a cage dancer at a nightclub. That never would’ve happened without you. You urged me to step out of my comfort zone and I’m so glad that I did. I’m happy, Eren. More than I have been in a long time, so don’t ever think that you’re not worthy of me, because you are. You really are.”

            He pushed back in his seat fast enough to knock the chair out from under him, but I didn’t care. Not when he crossed the space between us in seconds and pressed his lips to mine.

            We were changing each other for the better and we had barely just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be more eventful, I promise. There will be more training (pole dancing lessons, anyone?), more sassy Armin, and some heavy drama/angst....
> 
> But thank you so much for the comments and kudos. I can't believe I'm at 1400 kudos already. That has never happened before so early on, so a big fat thank you to everyone who has pushed that kudos button. <3


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!  
> Okay, so in this chapter, Levi performs a dance routine, and since I didn't want to describe the whole thing, you can view it [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-1RzyHNa7A) Seriously, it's amazing, and imagining Levi doing that... Well... *is speechless*
> 
> But anywho, go on and read.

I was happy to discover that I was a natural at pole dancing. I picked it up faster than most beginners, and even managed to master several advanced moves within three months. Now Armin was helping me work on a routine that I wanted to nail down in time for Eren’s birthday next month. So, on this Saturday morning, he met up with me at a dance studio Mikasa had rented out a couple of weeks ago. I was already inside practicing when he came barging in announcing that he wouldn’t be able to put in any work, because his ass was hurting something fierce. I almost fell off the pole because of that one. As it was, I started laughing so hard that I skidded down the pole until I crash landed on the hardwood flooring.

        After he all but flung his duffel bag beside my stuff, he said, “Oh, you better shut up right now. Don’t tell me that you’ve never ridden Eren like he was a bucking bronco, because I know you have. You were limping like an old man with arthritis last week.”

        My laughter died away faster than humanly possible. “Okay, truce. Do you want some Tylenol? I have some in my bag.”

        “No, I just took something before coming here. Hopefully it kicks in soon. But in the meantime, let’s drill you on some moves, shall we? Also, I approve of your outfit today. Hot damn.”

        I was in a pair of carbon-black crisscross Brazil dance shorts. They had been a gift from Mikasa, and I was surprised to find that they were a lot more comfortable than they looked. “Thank you,” I said. “So what moves are you going to drill me on?”

        “Let’s start off with the Allegra, because I still can’t believe that you can wrap your body around the pole like it’s nothing. You’re like a damn pretzel.”

        “Being flexible pays off, my friend.” I grabbed hold of the pole with both hands and pulled myself up before spreading my legs into a center split. I spun around, wrapped my right leg around the pole, and leaned back so that I could grab the calf of my left leg, all while still spinning.

        “Beautifully executed,” Armin said, “which makes me question why you haven’t showed Eren any of these moves yet.”

        I leaned up and slid down to the floor. “Because I want to give him a personal dance on his birthday.”

        “You sure about that?”

        I narrowed my eyes at him. “There’s something you’re not telling me. What is it?”

        “Well, I might’ve called Eren up and asked him to meet us here.” He raised his hands before I could start yelling, which I was about to do in five seconds. “Levi, you’re an amazing pole dancer. I think you should give him a preview of what’s yet to come. You know that small routine you learned already? What’s the harm in showing him that today? Come on! He’s been begging to come and see you. He’s practically on his knees.”

        It’s true that I hadn’t let Eren catch a glimpse of me on the pole since I started practicing, but there was a reason behind that. I wasn’t ready. Even when I’d managed to accomplish a lot in such a short amount of time, I wasn’t anywhere near the level I would have to be at in order to show off. With my luck, I would fall off the pole in a very unattractive way and ruin the whole _exotic dancer_ allure. Eren would never look at me the same. From that point on, he would muffle laughter whenever he saw me near or around a pole. Then, when his birthday came, there would be no impressing him with my moves.

        “Earth to Levi,” Armin said as he flicked my forehead. “You look like someone just ran over your dick.”

        “You might as well, if you let Eren see me before I’m ready!”

        He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. “Levi, you’re literally one of the sexiest people I have ever seen in my life, and you can work a pole like you were born to do it. Stop doubting yourself. Eren will love anything you do. When you walk into a room, you’re all he sees. The boy has got it bad, if you haven’t noticed. And he won’t do anything that will make you feel uncomfortable. You know that better than anyone. Even if you mess up, all he’s going to do is help you get back up there, and coddle you for the rest of the day. He cares about you a lot, so stop acting like he’s going to judge you on every little thing.”

        Everything he was telling me was the truth. I knew that much without him having to tell me. No matter what I chose to do, Eren was always there to support me. I could pick up yodeling, and I had no doubt that he would gladly listen to me howl for hours on end. He was too good to me and I would be lying if I said I didn’t love every second of it.

        He was perfect.

        “So,” Armin said with a mischievous smile when he caught sight of my blissed out grin, “can he come?”

         “Ugh, fine. He can come. But if I fall, I will hunt you down.”

        He waved me off. “Yeah, yeah. For the record, I don’t think you’ll fall on your ass. I know you’re going to kill it and give Eren a boner that will last for days.” He walked over to his duffel back, knelt down, and rummaged through it for a couple of seconds. When he had his phone in hand, he stood back up. “I’m going to call Eren. He wouldn’t agree to come until I got your approval.” He rolled his eyes. “Like I said, the boy has got it bad.”       

        “Wait!” I blurted out, nervous all over again. “Do I at least look okay?” I had been here for the last hour, dancing like I was on a mission to save my life. Needless to say, I worked up a sweat. If I was going to try to look sexy, I at least needed to look somewhat decent.

        “For the last time, you’re hot as hell. Stop worrying. You look good enough to eat.”

        While he spoke to Eren on the phone, I inspected myself in the mirrored wall to the right of me. Pieces of my hair were matted to my forehead and I pushed them back with the heel of my palm, but that only created a cow lick. I groaned in frustration. If it were up to me, I would go home and take a long, hot shower to scrub away the sweat. I would also change into something that provided me with more coverage, because these shorts that I was wearing looked like they were painted onto my skin. Then again, that could work to my advantage. Eren had a thing for my legs, which reminded me of something I’d stuffed in my duffel bag weeks ago. It had been another gift from Mikasa, one that I hadn’t been planning to use.

        Walking past Armin, I picked up my bag and unzipped the top compartment. The black, chunky heel ankle boots were right where I left them. I wondered if I should put them on before Eren got to the studio, or would it just double the risks of me messing up. Before I could even come to a decision, Armin was by my side. He ogled the shoes for two seconds, scooped them out, and then pressed them to my chest.

        “Yes,” he declared. “So much yes. Put them on.”

        “I don’t know if I should. I’ve never practiced with them on. That’s a sure way for me to screw up.”

        “If they were thin heels, then yeah, I could see you doing that. But these heels are thick. There’s no way you’ll stumble and fall with them on. At least try. Come on. Give them a whirl.”

        There was no point in arguing with him. He wouldn’t rest until I complied, so, to save myself the hassle, I kicked off my tennis shoes and slipped on the boots. I was surprised to find that they weren’t as bad as I thought they would be. They weren’t exactly comfortable, but I could walk in them without falling on my face. That was a plus.

        “Well?” Armin asked.

        “They’re okay.”

        “They make your legs look incredible.”

        “They do?”

        He bent forward and smacked my calf. “Hell yes they do. Those calves are holy.”

        Goofing around, I sauntered over to the pole in a dramatic fashion and grabbed onto it when it was within reach. I spread my legs out as I began to sway my hips from side to side. Then I bent forward, gave my ankles a little slap, and ran my hands up my legs as I straightened up. When I was upright, I bit down on my index finger and looked at Armin over my shoulder, ready to laugh, but I froze in place because Eren was standing next to him. There was a hungry look in his eyes that made my stomach flip flop.

        Oh, jeez, he saw the whole thing.

        After the initial shock of seeing him wore off, I said, “Um…you weren’t supposed to be here yet.”

        Eren stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and smiled crookedly. “I came with Armin, except I was told to wait outside until he found out whether you wanted me here or not.”

        “Armin, what the hell,” I shouted, growing more and more embarrassed by the second. You could cook an egg on my face with how hard I was blushing. “You could’ve told me that.”

        Armin shrugged. “You don’t even realize how sexy you looked just then, do you?”

        “I was messing around,” I grumbled while I folded my arms over my chest. “It wasn’t meant to look sexy.”

        Eren came up to me then, and pressed his palms to my sides as he traced the outline of my hipbones with his thumbs. He leaned forward, lips skimming over my neck as he said against my skin, “You may have been messing around, but you looked fucking sexy.” He brushed his fingertips up the length of my spine, raising goose bumps, and I tilted my head to the side, silently pleading with him to touch me more. He understood what I wanted right away. He ran his tongue over a spot on the side of my neck before sucking on the skin hard enough to leave a mark behind. I sagged against him, aching in all the right places.

        “Okay, before you guys start going at it, I wanted to show off some of my moves,” Armin said. “I have not been busting my ass off for nothing.”

        Eren leaned back and I pouted without even realizing it. He nipped at my bottom lip when he saw it, his right hand sliding down to the curve of my ass. Kissing the side of my mouth, he told Armin, “Okay, go ahead and show me what you’ve been working on.”

        Without any type of warning, Armin came rushing up to Eren and tried to punch his face. Eren caught his fist with ease, a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.

        “Too slow,” chastised Eren, like it was perfectly normal for his best friend to throw a punch at him.

        “Son of a bitch.” Armin yanked his hand out of Eren’s grasp. “One day I’ll get you.”

        I looked at both of them, but they offered me no explanation, so I asked, “What in the hell just happened?”

        Armin huffed. “Jean and I have a bet going on. He said that I wouldn’t be able to punch Eren, even when he’s not on guard. I thought it would be easy to nail him one when he wasn’t expecting it, but apparently I was wrong. This is the third time I’ve tried.”

        “Well, at least you can throw a punch. I can’t even do that.”

        “What?” Eren said, blinking in a confused way, like I’d just told him that one plus one equals eleven. “You can’t throw a punch? Hold on. Show me what you can do. It’s important that you can at least deck someone. Especially in the line of work you’re going into. I taught Armin how to fight, so I can teach you.” Without waiting for a response, he moved in front of me and raised his fists. “Come on. Try to punch me. Don’t hold anything back.”

        This was so unexpected that all I could do was stare at him with a stupid expression on my face. I wasn’t lying when I told him that I couldn’t throw a punch. I knew that self-defense was important, but I would’ve preferred that someone other than my hot, ultimate fighter boyfriend showed me how to clobber someone. I was more than sure that I was going to make a complete fool out of myself. I didn’t even know how to ease back into a fighting stance, which was just sad. After seeing him take down the ogre that was Reiner with little effort, I didn’t want to embarrass myself by attempting to throw an adequate punch.

        “What’s wrong?” Eren asked when I just stood there.

        “This is kind of embarrassing,” I admitted. “You’re an amazing fighter and I can’t even slap someone without hurting my hand in the process. Now you want me to punch you?”

        “Don’t worry about how you look. Here.” He walked up to me and tapped on the backs of my knees, which reminded me that I was in heels. _Heels!_ “Bend your knees a bit and raise your hands by the sides of your face.” I followed his instruction and he nodded in approval. “Good, that’s perfect. Now when you go to punch, push off your back foot and put all your weight into the blow. Make sure you keep your thumb out over your fingers, or you’re going to end up breaking it. That’s pretty much all there is to it.”

        I lifted my gaze to his. His eyes were luminous, intent, one the color of golden honey while the other was a metallic green. Ugh, he was gorgeous and distracting. Giving my head a little shake to clear my mind, I remembered what he told me and pushed off my back foot, throwing my fist at his face with all the force I could muster. He caught it in his palm without a problem, effectively blocking the hit, but he was smiling in a way that told me I hadn’t looked as foolish as I thought I would.

        “That was really good for your first punch,” he said, sliding his fingers under my chin to coax my head back.

        “Don’t flatter me. Did it suck?”

        “I’m being serious. It was good. Right, Armin?”

        Armin strolled up to us with his hands clasped behind his back. “It actually was good. I wouldn’t bullshit you on that one. But”—he leaned to the side and pulled up a folding chair that had been pushed against the wall—“I think it’s time that you show him some of your other skills.”

        Eren sat down in the chair like it had some sort of gravitational pull on him. The hungry look in his eyes returned full force, and I realized, almost stupidly, that he was looking forward to seeing me dance. Of course he was. How blind could I be? I needed to accept that he looked at me the same way that I looked at him. That he wasn’t here out of pity, but here because he wanted to see what I was capable of doing. And just like that, in a matter of seconds, all the doubt that had been present drained away. I offered him a teasing smile and signaled to Armin to go dim the lights.

        If I was going to do this, then I wasn’t going to hold anything back. Not anymore.

        Noticing my change of attitude, Armin rushed over to the light switch and slid it down until I was awash in shadows. Then the stereo clicked on, and he slipped through the door, leaving just Eren and me in the dance studio.

        Before the song came on, I took my place beside the pole and turned my back towards Eren. When the first thrum of music began, anxiousness fading into the familiarity of routine, I ran the tips of my fingers down the backs of my legs before I leaned forward and pressed my palms flat on the floor. I sunk down into a center split and rolled my hips up just to push them back down again. Everything came easy after that. I lost myself in the beat of the song, in the movement of my body. It was only when I was on the floor with my hips in the air that I locked eyes with Eren. The expression on his face made me falter. He looked like he was in pain in the most delicious way, eyebrows drawn together and lips slightly parted. He was eyeing me like a treat he couldn’t wait to taste.

        Rolling onto my hands and knees, I decided to add a new part to this dance routine of mine. I started to crawl toward the chair he sat in, movements intentionally slow. I was all too aware of his hands clenching into tight fists in his lap as he watched me. Intrigued by his reaction, I bit down on my lower lip when I stopped in front of him and pressed my hands flat to his inner thighs. I slid my palms up to the evident swell in his jeans and looked up at him as he released a shaky breath. There was nothing keeping me from taking this a step farther, so I leaned forward and ran my tongue up along the bulge in his jeans. His hips shook.

        “Getting hard during my performance,” I said. “How naughty of you.”

        “It’s not like I could help it. You look so”—his eyes squeezed shut as I nuzzled my face against him—“sexy. Fuck. You’re amazing.”

        I took the zipper of his jeans between my teeth and slid it down that way. “Should I do something about this?” I mouthed at him through the fabric of his boxers to indicate what I meant. “Or should I make you wait?”

        “No, don’t make me wait,” he said, his voice rough and barely controlled.

        As I slid his boxers down over his hips, the song ended and a new, slower beat filled the room. I couldn’t even hear it anymore, not when I had him in hand, his piercing inches away from my face. I flicked my tongue across it, moaning when I tasted the pre-come that had gathered at the tip. Using my tongue to guide the head of his cock into my mouth, I sucked on it, and looked up in time to see him clench his teeth, his jawline becoming defined. God, I wanted to see more, hear more. I wanted to make him come undone before me. It was all I could think about as I worked my mouth down until my nose was touching his skin.

        There was no more control after that. He thrust his hips up and pushed his member back into my throat, gasping when I swallowed him down greedily. I wanted him to take control, to be rough with me. I didn’t want gentleness, so I moaned around him, licking and sucking even as his fingers knotted in my hair so he could direct my rhythm. He guided my head down as he thrust forward and I urged him on, uncaring of the tears that sprung to my eyes. The hot weight of him on my tongue drove me crazy.

        I was so lost in what he was doing that I jerked violently when he pressed the toe of his boot to my erection. He said, “Touch yourself,” in a voice that begged me to comply. I did so without hesitation, pushing my shorts down. Then I grabbed the base of my shaft and began to pump my hand, whining against his cock as he continued to thrust his hips. My hand was slick with pre-come now, and I rocked into it until I was panting and moaning, the sounds coming out as muffled grunts.

        As my actions grew frantic, my body too hot, too tight, Eren grabbed my shoulders and eased me back. I was so out of it that I couldn’t even form a protest.

        “Come up here,” he demanded.

        I rose to my feet on shaky legs, but he put his hands on my hips to steady me. I was about to ask him what he planned on doing when he took me into his mouth without further explanation. My cock throbbed hard against his tongue and my hips lurched to life on their own as I began to fuck his mouth with no control over my movements, but he didn’t slow his pace. If anything, he went faster.

        Sliding my fingers into his hair, I said, “Eren… I’m about to come...”

        _Fuck..._

        He didn’t slow down, just kept stroking me with his lips and tongue. When I looked down at him, I saw that he was moving his hand down his length in a hard, fast rhythm that had him shaking against me. The sight was so hot, so tempting that my cock jerked as I came in his mouth. A drawn out groan escaped me and I buried my face in his hair, my legs going weak beneath me. Eren swallowed everything I had to give, and then pulled back, biting and sucking on my hip as his own release followed.

        For a long time, both of us stayed still, the sound of our breathing heavy enough to be heard over the music. Then he pulled me onto his lap and murmured something I didn’t catch.

        “What?” I asked.

        “I am hopelessly yours,” he said.

 

\---

 

Later that night, when my shift at Club Rose started, I pulled into the parking lot and was surprised to see Isabel’s white Honda Civic. Her and Eren were on good terms these days, but still weren’t at the level that she would come here alone. For some reason, a knot formed in my stomach. Something didn’t feel right. Was she okay? Or had she come here to discuss stuff about their mother? Carla had been in and out of the hospital lately, so it wouldn’t surprise me if that were the case.

        Worried, I parked in my usual spot and stepped out. I had just turned the corner when I heard the shouts, piercing and loud in spite of the crowd that was gathered around the front entrance. I stopped dead in my tracks, because the voices were far too familiar. Then I heard the sickening crunch of fist meeting bone and I broke out in a run, pushing passed people in my hurry. As I reached the double doors, I saw Farlan throw another punch. Eren’s head snapped to the side, but he did nothing to stop it.

        “Come on!” Farlan shouted. “Fight back!”

        Eren spat out a mouthful of blood and said, “No.”

        I broke out of my paralysis and went running up to them. I shoved Farlan away. “What the hell are you doing?” I yelled.

        What was happening?

        Farlan glared at me. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were a cage dancer at this place?”

        “What? That’s none of your business! Is that why you’re doing this?”

        He grabbed my arm. “It is my business, Levi. I gave you plenty of time, just like you asked. I want you back. I’ve wanted you back for a long while now.”

        My mouth dropped open and I looked up at Eren. I didn’t know what I was expecting to see, but the flat, emotionless expression he wore was not it. Anything but that empty stare.

        He was putting up his walls…

        Against me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *stares at you* I'm sorry. I threw in a curveball. Needless to say, next chapter will be a little, uh, dramatic. 
> 
> Buuut onto better news, I want to give a shoutout to the user lollylicker. She's been with me for a long time and comments always, even when I don't get back to her. THANK YOU! I appreciate you so much. You have no idea. <3
> 
> I truly appreciate everyone who comments. You guys make my day.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I got some pretty strong reactions last chapter. All I can say is I like that I'm even capable of pulling any type of reaction from you guys. But I knew a lot of you assumed that Farlan was with Isabel, and I have to say that it's never safe to assume anything when it comes to my work. I tend to throw in tidbits that I hope will throw you off in later chapters, and guess what, it worked, because Isabel and Farlan aren't together. I never stated that they were. They're just best friends, and if you remember the chapter Farlan came to the club, Levi didn't tell him which position he took up at Club Rose, so Farlan had no idea that our little munchkin was planning to dance his pretty little ass off as a cage dancer. xD He only knew that one of his best friend's was stressed (Isabel), and that he needed to help her (take her far away from that club asap).  
> But, anyway, go on and read.

Anger, so palpable that I could taste it in the back of my mouth, washed through me and clouded my vision. All I could see was the bruise forming on Eren’s cheek and the emptiness in his eyes as he glanced between me and Farlan. His expression revealed nothing. It was carefully composed into a mask of indifference that hid his true feelings. There was no way for me to know what he was thinking, and that made me want to scream. I wanted to take his face into my hands, force him to look at me, but I couldn’t move. My body was rigid, my arms pinned to my sides as my fingers curled in until my nails bit into my palms. I’d never been so furious in my life, the emotion twisting and knotting my stomach.

        Farlan’s hand was still wrapped around my forearm. The way he was touching me felt overly possessive and wrong. Everything inside of me screamed to do something, so I tried to shake him off, but his grip tightened until I winced in pain. That little showcase of emotion seemed to pour life back into Eren’s features. The mask of nonchalance slipped away in a millisecond, his eyes burning with uncontrolled rage as he stepped up to where we stood. In a flash, he snatched the collar of Farlan’s shirt and yanked him away from me like he weighed no more than a small child.

        “Get your hands off me!” Farlan spat out.

        Eren dragged him off without a care for his protests. Then he slammed him up against the front wall of the club and said, “Touch him one more time and I swear I’ll make you regret it.”

        Farlan went to speak, but the sound of the double doors bursting open caught his attention. Armin, Jean, and Isabel came rushing out. When Izzy saw me standing there, seconds away from breaking down, she came up to me and pulled me into her arms. I found little comfort in her warmth. This all had happened so suddenly that my emotions were scattered. I couldn’t get them under control, but I knew I had to, and soon. I owed Eren an explanation. Hell, I owed him an apology. I also had to set Farlan straight, because there was obviously a misunderstanding between us. One I thought I cleared up years ago.

        “I’m so sorry,” Isabel said in a rush. “I wanted to come visit you and Eren, and Farlan decided to tag along because he was curious about what you did… Aw, shit, I fucked up, Levi. I didn’t know he would react this way when he found out what you did. He blames everything on Eren, thinks that he manipulated you into being a cage dancer. I tried explaining things to him, but he just wouldn’t listen.”

        Of course Farlan thought Eren manipulated me. It probably never even occurred to him that this was something I wanted to do, something that made me happy. I shouldn’t have been surprised by that. When we were together in high school, he expected me to be nothing less than perfect. At the time, I thought that was what I wanted too, but I soon realized that I was doing it just to please him. The constant effort to try to be what he wanted put a strain on me that I couldn’t deal with, so I broke it off, relieved that I no longer had to pretend to be someone that I wasn’t. The worst part was he never noticed that I hadn’t been happy in the relationship. He continued to believe that I wanted to be the perfect wind up doll that would do and say anything that satisfied him.

        “You should be with Eren,” I told Izzy, angrier than I had been a minute ago. “Farlan punched him.”

        Her eyes widened. “ _What?_ ” She whirled around and went running up to Eren. She lifted her fingers to the bruise on his cheek, and then directed her gaze at Farlan, who had his eyes on me. “You hurt him?”

        “It’s okay,” Eren soothed.

        “No, screw that! This is _not_ okay! Don’t sit there and say it’s okay.” She touched the bruise on his face once again, looking distressed. “You’ve been hurt way too many times. I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed out here with you. I shouldn’t have gone inside to get someone.”

        That must have awakened something in Armin, because he went up to Farlan with a look of determination and punched him square in the face. Farlan stumbled back and clutched his nose. “Yeah, that’s right,” Armin said, sounding proud of himself. “That’s for hurting my best friend, you asshole. Touch him one more time and I’m going to make you eat the ground.”

        “All right, that’s enough.” Jean pushed Armin behind him and then turned toward the crowd. “The club will not open until further notice. You can either wait here or go home.” He pointed at Farlan. “You. You need to get the fuck out of here before I pick up where my boyfriend left off.”

        “No, wait,” I interjected. “I need to talk to him.”

        Eren’s eyes flicked in my direction and I was relieved to see emotion there, even when that emotion was a mixture of pain and confusion. He came up to me, dubious, and cupped my face to angle my head back until I was looking at him. “I know you need to talk to him, but I don’t want you to do it alone. Not after he grabbed you the way he did. Have Jean go with you.”

        “Okay,” I said, unshed tears stinging my eyes. “I’m sorry this happened. I owe you an explanation. I do. And I understand if you’re mad—”

        “Hey.” He wiped away the tear that had coursed down my cheek with his thumb. “I’m not mad at you. His actions don’t dictate how I feel toward you.”

        “Still, this happened because of me.”

        He shook his head. “No. You couldn’t have controlled how he reacted.”

        “I could’ve told you that he was my ex.”

        “Because I’ve told you all about mine? Listen, talking about that shit is awkward. Plus, you’ve told me everything about him except for his name. The last boyfriend you had was two years ago, right? Was that him?”

        I nodded. “Yeah.”

        “From what you’ve told me, your relationship with him wasn’t exactly…peachy.”

        “No, it wasn’t. It was nothing like ours. I’ve never been this happy in a relationship before. I don’t have pretend with you.”

        His expression softened. “I can say the same about you. Now go talk to him, because I think he needs to hear this from you.”

        “I know.”

        Eren looked at Jean and jerked his head toward the front entrance. Jean nodded once and pointed to the front doors as he glared Farlan down. “Go in.”

        Farlan was still holding his nose, so his voice came out muffled when he said, “We don’t need a chaperone. I want to talk to Levi _alone._ ”

        “Hell fucking no,” Armin shot back.

        “I think Levi should decide,” Farlan retorted.

        I’d known Farlan since I was in junior high, but something told me that to be alone with him would be asking for trouble. Especially after what he’d done and how he was continuing to behave. Right then it felt like I was facing a stranger. One with ill intentions. “I’d feel more comfortable if Jean came along.”

        Jean looked smug and once again gestured to the front doors. “Last chance. Take it or leave it.”

        Farlan bit out a curse before he strode to the front doors and yanked one open. Once he disappeared inside, I let out a sigh. This wasn’t going to be pretty. For the last couple of months, I hadn’t even talked to him. I didn’t really think anything of it. He was busy with his job and I was busy with mine, but maybe there was a reason behind his silence. Maybe in his own prideful way, he’d been trying to tell me that something was wrong, but I wouldn’t be held responsible for his outburst. He had every chance to come talk to me, to let me know how he felt, but he chose to keep everything bottled up inside. Now we were here and I couldn’t be more pissed.

        “Can we talk afterwards?” I asked Eren, sounding uncertain.

        He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to my lips. “Of course.”

        I stood up on tiptoes and kissed him one more time. Then I followed Jean into the club. Farlan was waiting for us inside and I led him to my dressing room, feeling a knot forming in the pit of my stomach the closer we got to it. How was I going to approach this? I wanted to make things as clear as possible, because I didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings this time around. I needed to make him understand that I was happy with Eren, that I was happy working at Club Rose.

        When we reached my dressing room, Jean pushed open the door and said to me, “This door stays open, but I’ll wait out in the hall. If he tries anything, call for me and I’ll come right away. Okay?”

        “Okay,” I said. “Thank you.”

        He nodded and then went to go stand some ways from the door to give me as much privacy as possible.

        “Come on.” I waited for Farlan to step into the room before I followed after him. I didn’t know how to begin this conversation. A very big part of me wanted to yell at him for having hurt Eren, but I knew that would put us at a bad start.

        “We’re not around him, you know,” Farlan said while I thought. “You can tell me the truth now.”

        “What are you talking about? What truth?”

        He turned to face me and crossed his arms. “That you don’t want to be here. Look, I don’t know what Eren’s doing to get you to agree to all this, but I’m telling you right now that you don’t have to keep this up. Is it because you needed money? Is that why you took this job? I’m pretty sure I can get you a job down at the company I work at and you won’t have to do anything as ridiculous and demeaning as being a cage dancer.”

        I stared at him in disbelief and something inside of me snapped, turning my vision red. “Do you even know me at all?”

        “Of course I know you,” he said in a confident tone. “And this isn’t you. I can’t even picture you dancing.” He chuckled, and in that moment I hated him. “Just, come on, let’s get out of here—”

        “Fuck you!” I snapped. “You don’t know me at all. I love working here. I’ve learned so much about myself since I’ve met Eren, and unlike you, he believes in me. He encourages me to try new things and because of that, I now know what I’m capable of. I can’t believe you can stand there and think you’re right when you’re so wrong.”

        “You’re telling me that you want to be a cage dancer? Or are you doing it because you think Eren will like you more? I bet that’s it.”

        I stepped up to him and slapped him so hard that his head snapped to the side. “I could go work as a librarian and Eren would still like me. I don’t have to be anything to impress him. Why are you even doing this? We haven’t been together in two years and we only went out for six months.”

        “You told me to wait for you,” he said as he rubbed at his reddening cheek.

        “Two months after I told you that, I explained that it would be better if we just remained friends. So why are you bringing this up now? When I’m at my happiest?”

        “Because he’s not right for you. You may not be able to see that, but I can. He’s going to hurt you. Then what? You’re going to be some cage dancer at a nightclub? What kind of people do you think you’ll attract? Not good ones. I’ll tell you that.”

        “Just…stop.”

        “No,” Farlan said, walking up to me and taking my face into his hands. “I’m right for you, Levi. I can give you the life you deserve. I _want_ to give you the life you deserve. When we were together, I was incredibly stupid and self-centered. I couldn’t see what I had right in front of me, and by the time I did see it, you had moved on. Please, Levi. Give me another chance. Choose me.”

        I looked into his bluish-grey eyes, ones that I’d always found so beautiful, but they weren’t the ones I longed for anymore. “I love him,” I whispered, my voice barely there. If he hadn’t been standing so close to me, I’m sure he wouldn’t have heard me at all.

        For a long while, his hands stayed frozen on my face, like he’d forgotten they were there to begin with, then they fell away as he took several steps back to put some distance between us. All the anger I felt moments ago evaporated into thin air when I saw the anguished expression on his face. The only thing I could think about was how we’d been friends for so long and now it had come to this. I wanted him to say something, to tell me that we would find a way to work things out between us, but I knew that couldn’t happen. Not now. He had a lot to come to terms with before we could go back to being friends, and so did I.

        “I understand,” he said at last.

        “Farlan—”

        He held his hand up. “No, I get it.”

        “I’m sorry.”

        “I think I should go. I’ve made enough of an ass of myself for one night.” He walked past me to the door and put his hand on the doorframe. After a few minutes of standing there in silence, he added, “I meant what I said, Levi. And I still want you to choose me. I still want another chance.” Then he was gone and I was left standing there to let everything that had just happened sink in.

        I didn’t stay in my dressing room for long. I couldn’t. So I walked back out into the corridor to find Eren in Jean’s place. He was leaning up against the wall, an inscrutable expression making his facial features look sharp, unwelcoming. I knew then that he had heard everything that had been said between Farlan and me—everything but the most important part. The part where I had confessed my feelings. But I was glad for that. When I told him that I loved him, I wanted it to be face to face.

        “Mikasa’s giving you the night off,” Eren said in a tone that held no emotion. “You don’t have to worry about missing hours. It’s paid time off, so you can head home.”

        “I thought we were going to talk?” My heart was beating so fast in my chest that I was sure he could hear it.

        I was afraid. I was so afraid of what he was going to say.

        He pressed the heels of his palms against his forehead, breath rushing out of him. “Fuck, Levi, I need some time to think about all this. I just…need some time.”

        “I chose you,” I whispered, my voice cracking as my chest tightened.

        He clenched his teeth until the tendons in his jaw were prominent under his skin. “Should you have? That friend of yours made it seem like I was horrible for you.”

        “It doesn’t matter what he thinks.”

        “He’s not the only one who thinks that! Can’t you see?” He turned away from me. “I never deserved you, Levi, but I took you anyway. I was greedy, selfish. I wanted you for my own. That guy, Farlan, maybe he’s right. Maybe he’s better for you than I am.”

        I shook my head, but no words of assurance left my mouth. It felt like I had stumbled out of my real life and into a nightmare, because this couldn’t be happening. Earlier today, when we were at the dance studio, everything had been okay, everything had been perfect. We were happy. So why was he letting this come between us? Couldn’t he see that I didn’t want Farlan? That I didn’t want anyone other than him? But I knew it wasn’t that simple. Eren had always doubted himself, had always believed that he wasn’t good enough for me, and now Farlan had confirmed his fears.

        Even though Farlan was wrong.

        “I need time,” Eren repeated. He sounded so broken, so defeated.

        I knew that he was fighting against himself on this one, and that I would be left on the sidelines to watch him decide what would become of us.

 

\---

 

I drove around the city until the gas light in my car came on. I didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to give myself time to think about anything, but I was going to get stranded unless I found a gas station. Luckily for me, there was one right up ahead. I turned into the lot and parked next to an empty gas pump. After I turned the key in the ignition, killing the engine, I leaned my head up against the steering wheel. I wanted to call Eren. I wanted to hear his voice. It had been three hours since I’d left the club. What could he be thinking right now? Or had he already made up his mind about us while I drove the hours away in hopes of escaping reality?

        Pushing the driver’s side door open, I stepped out into the cool night and went about the mechanics of filling up my gas tank. If I went home right now, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I would stay up in bed until my phone screen lit up and showed me a message from him. His shift didn’t end for another two hours. Would I have to wait that long to hear from him? What if he put it off until tomorrow?

        I felt like I was going crazy.

        Once I screwed the gas cap back on, I got into my car and decided to drive to the one place that I would be able to find some comfort in. Eren’s apartment. A month ago he’d given me a set of keys to his place and told me that I could come over whenever I felt the urge to. Right now I not only had the urge to go, I _needed_ to go. I wanted to be somewhere that I knew he would eventually turn up at. So I maneuvered my car down familiar streets, not even paying attention to how fast I was going. If a cop pulled me over, I would welcome the distraction.

        I made it to Eren’s apartment complex fifteen minutes later without running into any trouble along the way. I was grateful for that. All this thinking and worrying had exhausted me to the point that even moving required monumental effort. Today had started out wonderful, promising, and was winding down to a terrible night that I wished was over hours ago.

        I parked in the first vacant space I spotted and wasted no time in getting out of my car. As I walked along the sidewalk, it dawned on me that this was my first real fight with Eren—if that’s what you wanted to call this shitfest I was currently stuck in. Every couple had them, but normally they weren’t this severe. They didn’t involve ex-boyfriends showing up at your place of work to deck your current boyfriend in the face. They didn’t involve that ex-boyfriend confessing feelings that you were sure they hadn’t felt in years. And they most certainly didn’t involve your current boyfriend contemplating breaking up with you when you just realized that you were in love with them.

        This hurt. This hurt so much.

        The second I stepped inside Eren’s apartment, my heart clenched tight in my chest. It had changed so much since the first time I’d walked through the front door to see nothing but sterile furnishings. In the past three months, we’d been coming here so often that it now looked lived in. Some of Eren’s shoes were scattered near the entryway, a T-shirt had been left abandoned over the top of the couch, a plate lay forgotten on the kitchen island… I didn’t want to lose him, not over something like this. I had to do something.

        Anything.

        I kicked off my shoes and dug my cell phone out of my pocket. I dialed his number, my heart hammering away all the while, and pressed the phone to my ear. It rung. Once. Twice.

        _Please._

“I don’t do greetings,” Eren’s voice said into my ear. His voicemail. “So leave your name and number and I probably won’t get back to you.”

        I hung up. Was he dodging my calls, or was he too busy at work to spare a minute of his time? There was no way for me to know the answers.

        Putting my phone on the entry table, I stripped down to my boxers and left my clothes wherever they landed. When Eren came home tonight— _if_ he came home—he would find me asleep in his bed. Maybe he would wake me up to tell me it was over and I would leave his apartment feeling wretched. Or maybe he would crawl into bed with me, wrap his arms around my waist, and hold me while I slept. I didn’t know how it was going to play out. All I knew was that I needed the oblivion that sleep offered. So I made my way up to his bedroom, and saw one of his shirts slung over the computer chair. I picked it up and slipped it on before I crept into a bed that smelt of him.

        As I sunk down into the pillows, too tired to think straight, I suddenly remembered that I’d left my phone on the entry table. Not that it made much of a difference now. I knew that he wouldn’t call me tonight. He probably wouldn’t even come home, the warehouse a much more alluring option. It’s where he went when he was stressed, when he needed to take out his frustrations in physical blows. Even when fighting had brought him so much pain, it was something that had become a part of him. He had made it his own, and I knew it was something he wouldn’t give up.

        I just hoped that he was okay.

        After I pulled the duvet up and over my head, cocooning myself in darkness, the uncertainty of what tomorrow would bring left me with an aching pain in the center of my chest. I clutched onto Eren’s pillow and felt the first tear slide down my cheek.

        All I could hope for was that he would be here when I woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first fic of mine where there's normal (semi-normal) angst. All my previous fics had pretty abnormal angst, so it feels good to write some good ole fashioned angst. 
> 
> As usual, thank you so much for commenting, reading, and subscribing to this work. I love you all. <3


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time... With a short chapter. xD  
> I have _a lot_ planned for next chapter, though. So at least you have that to look forward to.

I snapped out of sleep sometime after three the next morning. Something had woken me, but as I lay there, listening, I heard nothing other than the soft pitter-patter of rainfall. After a few minutes of this passed, I rolled onto my side and took a quick glance at the empty spot beside me. The sheets were cold beneath my fingertips. Eren hadn’t come home last night, and even when I had prepared myself for that to happen, that didn’t make it hurt any less. If anything, it hurt more. I’d been foolish to think that he would come back here at all. He was probably crashing at Connie’s house after a round or two at the warehouse, just like in the old days. But I couldn’t even blame him for that. I should’ve taken matters into my own hands and gone back to the club to talk things out. Now it was too little, too late.

        I knew that I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep anytime soon. There were too many thoughts running through my mind at once. Thoughts that demanded my attention. I didn’t want Eren to break things off between us because he thought that he wasn’t good enough for me when he was. He was everything I could ask for and more. If only he could see that for himself. If only there was a way for me to show him, but I knew that even then, he wouldn’t believe it. There were certain things in his past that he had to come to terms with before that could happen. Until then, he would think of himself as someone that didn’t deserve a damn thing.

        Feeling miserable, I curled up into a fetal position and squeezed my eyes closed. The rain outside went on, undisturbed. The soft hum of the refrigerator downstairs droned on, constant and loud in spite of the rain. Everything kept going as it should, but I felt like I was stuck in one endless moment that refused to give way to the next. I tried to remember if I’d been like this after I broke up with Farlan all those years ago, but all I could remember was feeling relieved—upset, but relieved nonetheless.

        _You’re getting ahead of yourself, Levi. He hasn’t broken up with you yet._

        I was seconds away from going downstairs to watch TV when I heard my phone go off. I was out of bed faster than should’ve been possible, almost flying down the stairs in my hurry. I nearly tripped near the bottom, but that did nothing to stop me from lunging at the entry table the moment it was in my line of sight. I scooped up my cell phone, and didn’t even bother checking who it was before I pressed it to my ear and said, “Hello?”

        “Levi, shit, why haven’t you been answering your phone?” It was Armin, sounding winded and anxious.

        “What’s wrong?”

        “There was an incident at the club. A guy who had been banned months ago somehow got in tonight. He—Fuck! He was after me. He has a thing for me, and I didn’t even see him, so when he came at me, I screamed. Eren just reacted after that. He just…”

        My blood went frigid in my veins. “Armin, what happened to him?”

        Through sobs, he said, “He was stabbed."

        There are moments in your life where time seems to come to a complete stop. This was one of them for me. I stood there in the entryway of Eren’s apartment clutching my phone so tight, I thought I would break it. Everything felt incredibly far away and unreal. I heard nothing. I saw nothing. Because nothing would stick. The only thing that stuck was a picture of Eren smiling his real smile, the one that showed off a dimple in his left cheek. The one that I loved so much that I couldn’t help but return it every time it made an appearance on his face.       

        This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t.

        “There has to be a mistake,” I heard myself saying. When I think back on this moment, I won’t remember uttering the words.

        “Levi,” Armin said, sounding cautious now. “I’m going to have Jean come and get you. Are you at your apartment?”

        “I’ll come. I’ll drive. Just tell me which hospital he’s in.”

        “No, you will not drive. Do you hear me? Not in your current condition. Just tell me where you are. Jean will go to you.”

        “I’m at Eren’s apartment. I was waiting for him, but he never came.”

        Armin started sobbing again. “Just wait there for Jean. Promise me you won’t drive, Levi.”

        “Yeah…I promise.” I ended the call, the slow movement of time persisting.

        After I set my phone down with care, as though I’d hurt it if I used too much force, I went about putting on my pants and shoes. I felt like I was on autopilot throughout the whole process, just doing things that came natural to me, but not remembering doing them afterwards. What I really wanted to do was pick up my cell phone and call Armin back. There were a lot of questions I needed to ask. Questions I needed answered. But after I was dressed, I simply stood there staring at the back of the front door. My heart felt like it had been shot at point-blank, the ache spreading through my chest until it was all I could feel. What if Eren wasn’t all right? What if I never got to tell him that I loved him?

        No. I couldn’t think about that. Not now. Hopefully, not ever.

        In a haze that had settled over me from the moment I heard Armin say _He was stabbed_ , I left Eren’s apartment and walked out into the front lobby to wait for Jean. The rain was coming down hard now and I had the sudden urge to go outside. It never once crossed my mind that I would end up getting sopping wet if I went out right then. All I knew was that I needed to keep moving. My legs had no intentions on stopping anytime soon. They wanted to carry me forward until I reached the one person I needed to see.

        The wind whipped at me when I stepped outside, blowing my hair sideways and soaking me almost instantly. It was the type of rainstorm you saw in movies, where everything was just whooshing and gusting and wet. I didn’t so much as lift a hand to shield myself from it all. And that’s how Jean found me sometime later as he pulled up in front of the apartment complex, just standing there in the rain, drenched to the bone.

        He rolled down the passenger window of his silver Saab, and called out, “Have you lost your mind?”

        I didn’t answer him. I merely pulled open the passenger side door with more force than the action warranted, and sat down on the leather seat, my sneakers squeaking in time with my movements. When I was settled in, Jean stared at me for half a second before he steered his car out of the parking lot. We didn’t talk on the drive to the hospital. There wasn’t much to say. We were both thinking of the man we were on our way to see in the dead of night, the man that had been stabbed at his job by some stalker that wanted to get his paws on Armin. How badly stabbed? I had no idea. No one was telling me, and I hadn’t asked.

        Once Jean was parked in the southern parking lot reserved for Urgent Care visitors, we both got out of the car and walked side by side up to the automatic sliding doors.

        “No one has been in to see him yet,” Jean said as we strode, not looking at me. “They wanted to patch him up first. So don’t think the worst. Armin is in hysterics, because he thinks it’s his fault. But the fucker who did this to Eren… It’s his fault, and he’s in jail now, where he belongs.”

        “Good. I hope he rots there.”

        Jean cut me a sideways glance. “Look, I may be an ass for asking this, but it seems I’m the only one willing to do it.” He looked up ahead again. “Do you have any lingering feelings for that douche fuck that punched Eren earlier today? What’s his nut? Farlan?”

        “None,” I said. “I don’t feel that way for Farlan at all.”

        “I thought as much, but I needed to make sure. Eren and I, we go way back. If I thought you were fucking around with him, I would drive you straight home.”

        Now it was my turn to look at him. “I’m not fucking around with him.”

        He nodded once and then we were through the sliding doors and walking past the reception desk. We followed a long, too bright corridor that led to an almost vacant waiting room that smelled of Purell hand sanitizer and overly fragrant flowers. Mikasa was one of the few people there, sitting in a padded chair near the magazine rack. She hopped up when she saw us and came up to me.

        “Armin’s in with him now,” she said as she took my hands, “but you can go in. That’s why I’m waiting out here.”

        I shook my head. “No, you’ve known him longer. You should go.”

        “He needs to see you, Levi.”

        It was the way she said it that caused something in my stomach to lurch, but I nodded in spite of that, and allowed myself to be led to the room they were keeping Eren in by a pretty nurse in pink scrubs. The badge clipped to the bottom of her shirt declared her as Ellie. After Ellie pointed out the door to room 211, which was somewhat open, she went back the way we came without so much as a greeting. Not that I cared in that particular moment. I could hear Armin and Eren talking. I tried not to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help but move closer. Eren’s voice sounded sturdy and strong. It didn’t have the faintest quality of pain or weakness, and that filled me with such relief that I almost toppled over.

        “For the last time, Armin,” Eren said, exasperated, “I’m fine. It wasn’t even your fault. I was the one that was emitting people into the club, which meant I let that bastard in. My mind was off in la-la land for the better part of the night. I shouldn’t even have been working the front doors under those conditions, but I was, so stop blaming yourself. I was the one at fault.”

        “But,” Armin sobbed out.

        “No, no buts _._ _I_ _’_ _m_ _fine_ _._ If you make me say that one more time, I swear I will have the nurse come in and sedate you.”

        Armin laughed, although it was wobbly. “Fine, you bitch. I was just concerned. Excuse me for actually caring about your rotten, stinky ass.”       

        “I have you know that my ass is cleaner than a whistle. Fuck you very much.”

        Now Armin’s laughter came out heartily. “Even after being stabbed, you’re still the biggest smartass I’ve ever met. UGH! I could just slap you right now. But”—his voice dropped to a serious tone—“I called Levi not too long ago. He should be on his way over here right now. I sent Jean to go get him.”

        “Fuck, Armin. Did you at least explain to him that I’m okay?”

        “I don’t know. I may have been a little…hysterical and just said that you were stabbed.”

        Silence. Then, “Give me my damn phone! I need to call him.”

        I chose to walk into the room after that, to ease some of the tension building between them. The first thing I saw when I stepped inside was Eren propped up on a medical exam table that was far too small for him. Then, standing next to it, was Armin, who looked deflated in every sense of the word. When they both turned their heads towards the door, eyeing me in a way that could only be described as shocked, I didn’t even offer an explanation to my sudden appearance. All I could focus on was Eren’s arm, which was in a vivid blue sling. I couldn’t help it, with everything else that happened today, I burst into tears.

        “Oh, fuck,” Eren said. “Come here. Why are you wet? Armin, don’t just stand there! Go get him a towel or something.”

        Armin shot him a look. “Will you at least say please?”

        “No, goddamnit. Go get a towel.”

        Armin rolled his eyes, but left the room after he gave me a couple of pats on the shoulder. When the door clicked shut behind me, I jolted, but didn’t go to Eren. I didn’t know where we stood after what he’d told me at the club earlier. I didn’t want to go to him for comfort if it was going to end with him saying something along the lines of: _Oh_ _,_ _and_ _by_ _the_ _way_ _,_ _it_ _’_ _s_ _over_ _._

        “Levi, come here,” Eren said as he waved me over with his good hand.

        I scrubbed at my eyes with my fists like a child. “I don’t have to stay. I just needed to make sure you were okay. If you want me to leave, I understand.”

        “What?”

        “You needed time, and I want to give it to you.” That was a lie. I didn’t want to spend any time away from him. I wanted him to hold me and tell me that everything was going to be okay between us.

        Eren hopped off the medical exam table and crossed the room in seconds. When he was in front of me, he pulled me against him with his one working arm. “I’m so stupid. The biggest idiot on earth.” He leaned down and pressed his forehead to mine. “No matter how much I fight it; I can’t get rid of this self-doubt. It’s always there. And when I overheard Farlan telling you that I wasn’t good enough, that I would end up hurting you, it just hit home in a way that I couldn’t ignore. I thought it would be best if I let you go before that could happen. That maybe, in the end, you would find your way back to him, but then I realized that I wasn’t forcing you to be in this relationship with me. So I decided that I wasn’t going to give you up for that bastard.” He kissed my cheek. “I want to be with you, Levi.”

        Overwhelmed with emotions that I couldn’t contain, I threw my arms around his neck. “How could you think that he’s better for me than you? He forces his way onto me, and yesterday was no different.” I buried my face in his neck. “Don’t do that to me again. I felt like someone stomped on my heart.”

        “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t feel any better, which is why I let that asshole who stabbed me into the club. Any other night, I would’ve recognized him and tossed him out on his ass. But I was pretty miserable.”

        We both had been pretty miserable, which made me wonder if that was what Farlan wanted all along. Other than me, he was Isabel’s closet friend, someone she confided in. I was sure that she had told him about Eren’s insecurities, so perhaps Farlan knew that coming to the club would throw Eren off and send our relationship askew. If that had been his intentions before he found out I was a cage dancer, then I wasn’t sure I would be able to trust him again. He was supposed to be my friend. Show me his support. Not try to spoil my relationship for his own personal gain.

         “Come, you need to sit.” I put my hand on Eren’s lower back and steered him in the direction of the medical exam table. He sat down on it without a fuss and I looked at his arm, wondering if it was broken. Had the guy hit the bone? The thought alone made me cringe. “How bad is it?”

        “It’s not that bad. They put the sling on to support my arm, so I wouldn’t move it around too much, but it’s not even broken. He got me right in the deltoid muscle, but missed the cephalic and axillary vein. So I lucked out. I think he was aiming for my neck.”

        A shiver shot down my spine. “Stop talking about it like it’s nothing.”

        “It could’ve been worse.”

        “This is bad enough.” I kissed the sling that cradled his arm, but didn’t stop there, pressing kisses to every mark that I came across. “I hate when you’re hurt.”

        He ran his fingers through my wet hair. “But I’m okay now. You, on the other hand, are going to get sick. If Armin isn’t back here with that towel soon, I’m going to go and get it myself.” For the first time since I walked through the door to his room, he eyed the shirt I was wearing. “Is that mine?”

        “It is,” I confirmed, feeling painfully shy all of a sudden. “I let myself into your apartment last night. I was going to wait for you there, but then this happened.” I glanced around the room to avoid meeting his gaze, my cheeks warm, and suddenly everything sunk in. We were in the hospital at four in the morning because he had been stabbed by someone who wanted to hurt him. It could have been worse, like he said, but that information provided me with no comfort. Things had gone wrong in a split second, too fast to be avoided. That could happen anywhere, at any time, and I remembered the dread I’d felt when Armin told me what had happened. How I worried that I wouldn’t be able to tell him that I loved him.

        I wouldn’t let that chance slip away for a second time.

        “I was going to call you, but everything got hectic real fast. I lost track of time.”

        Without answering him, I climbed onto his lap, uncaring that I was going to get him wet. When I had my legs around his waist, I cupped his face and ran my thumb over the bruise Farlan had left on his cheek. It was a deep bluish-purple now, a vibrant color that stood out under the fluorescent lighting. I leaned down, kissed it, and then whispered, “I love you, Eren.” My heart pounded in my chest.

        He went rigid beneath me, eyes wide, and then he hugged me to him so tightly, I thought he might crack a rib. “Levi,” he said in a shaky voice.

        “I do.” I grabbed his hand and brought it up to hold it against my lips. “I don’t expect you to say it back, but I needed you to know.”

        Eren threw both his arms around me—even his bad one—and buried his face in the crook of my neck. He stayed like that for a long time, trembling against me, and I thought he wasn’t going to say anything in return. That was fine. If he wasn’t ready, then I would wait until he was.

        “But I do,” he whispered after a while. “I do love you, Levi.”

 

\---

 

We left the hospital a half hour later, after Eren was prescribed some pain killers and was given instructions on how to properly clean his wound until he came back in to have the stiches removed. By the time we walked out to the parking lot, the sun barely peeking over the horizon, both of us were beyond exhausted from everything that had happened within twenty-four hours. We wanted to go home, take showers, and sleep away the weariness. So when Armin suggested that we hit up a diner to eat an early breakfast, both Eren and I declined, ready to let this day come to a close. So we walked with him and Jean to their car before we made our way over to Armin’s. He was going to lend it to us, since mine was still at Eren’s apartment complex.

        “My apartment, or yours?” Eren asked as he pulled open the passenger side door.

        I smiled. “Not ready to say goodbye yet?”

        “I’m really not.”

        I slid into my seat and keyed the engine. “Your apartment then. You have a bigger shower.”

        “Gonna shower with me?”

        “Mhm,” I said simply, and took his hand when he offered it to me.

        I drove to his apartment with Radiohead playing in the background, and I thought of nothing but the feel of my hand in his. Every so often, I would glance over at him and see the streetlights chasing away the shadows on his face. I could still make out the bruise on his cheek, the off color of it tainting his skin, but that wasn’t what I was looking at. I was just looking at him, at the soft curve of his nose and lips, at his precise jawline. He had been through so much pain and never once uttered a word of complaint.

        “What are you thinking about?” Eren asked when I returned my eyes to the road ahead.

        “How amazing you are.”

        “What’s so amazing about me?”

        “Everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that they have made up, I want there to be a little...special times between them. Stay tuned for Armin working his magic next chapter, and by magic, I mean him convincing Levi to treat Eren in a nurse uniform. I'm not even sorry.
> 
> As usual, thank you so, so much for the comments, kudos, and subscriptions.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I received some fanart. Go check it out. --> [(x)](https://www.instagram.com/p/BFnXQbDL-WM/)  
> Thank you, Pandagulung. Receiving that fanart made me really happy. <3

The next morning, Mikasa sent out a mass email to all the employees of Club Rose to inform them that the club wouldn’t be reopening until this Saturday. She wanted to give Eren a three day break to rest and recuperate from everything that happened the previous night. No one argued with her on this, although everyone agreed that when we reopened this weekend, there was going to have to be a main attraction to lure in more customers to make up some of the lost revenue. Armin suggested that I make my grand appearance as an official male dancer. After several emails, text messages, and phone calls, we all decided that this Saturday I would debut as Club Rose’s latest cage/pole dancer.

        Although I was excited for this to happen—I _had_ been working my ass off for the past few months—I was also nervous. I always thought that Eren would be working during my first performance, but his arm wouldn’t miraculously heal in three days, and I didn’t want to cause him further injury by making him strain it. Mikasa was going to put him behind the bar with Marco until he fully recovered from his stab wound. That was understandable, of course, but I still wished that he would be in his usual position this Saturday. I wanted him right there by the stage, watching over me. With him around, I felt like no harm could come to me. I was being biased, because I was sure that everything would be fine under Jean’s guidance, but still.

        “What’s on your mind?” Eren asked. “You’ve been really quiet for the past twenty minutes or so.”

        For lunch, we had stopped by one of my favorite Thai restaurants. It was full of people this afternoon, all chatting among themselves and filling the large space with their voices and the clinking of glass plates as they ate. We sat near the front window, our table awash in sunlight.

        “I’m a little nervous about this Saturday,” I admitted, pushing around the Pad Thai on my plate. Everything looked and smelled delicious, but I found that I couldn’t eat one bite. The nerves started to kick in, making their grand appearance when I least expected it.

        “That’s natural. It will be your first time going up there as an official dancer, but we all know that you’re going to blow the crowd away. You’ve been working really hard, Levi.”

        I smiled and looked up at him with shy eyes. “What if I fall on my ass?”

        “Then you fall on your ass, and I’ll go around punching anyone who laughs at you.”

        “You would not,” I said.

        “Try me.”

        I leaned forward in my seat and he mirrored the movement, so we met in the middle. I kissed him, aloof to all the people surrounding us. “You can’t go around punching customers for laughing at me.”

        “Watch me,” he said as he kissed me again. “I will not hold back. I may only have one good arm at my disposal, but I will use it.”

        I laughed and sat back in my seat. “Well, I guess I better not mess up, then.”

        “You won’t. You’re going to do great. Trust me on that.”

        I rested my chin in my hand and just looked at him sitting across the table from me. The sunlight lit the stray away hairs on the top of his head to a bright, golden hue that accentuated his different colored eyes and tan skin _._ Although the right side of his face was riddled with bruises that shouldn’t have been there in the first place, they did not take away from his overall appearance. I could look at him forever and not get tired of it.

“You know,” I said, “you’re too gorgeous.”

        He smiled in a bashful way that was unfamiliar to me. I loved it immediately. “Is that so?”

        “Mhm. It drives me nuts.”

        “Yeah, well, I know the feeling.”

        Back in good spirits, I picked up my chopsticks and ate my noodles. Since my hands were occupied, I slid my foot in between his legs under the table, and pressed the toe of my shoe against his crotch. He made a choking noise in the back of his throat and stared at me with eyes that were bulging. I couldn’t help but laugh at that, but I didn’t take my foot away. I kept it there throughout the entire meal, watching him fidget whenever I happened to move my foot a little too…enthusiastically. By the time the waitress walked over to our table to deliver our bill, he was sporting a hard-on that could’ve broken concrete.

        I slipped two twenty dollar bills into the check holder while I pretended to be oblivious to Eren’s lustful expression, and then I stood up. He kept his eyes on me as he readjusted himself in his pants. Then he was on his feet and leading me out of the restaurant. We were practically jogging once we made it outside, the sound of traffic blotting out our hurried footsteps. My car was parked on the street in front of a clothing store a little way from where we were now. When we got to it, both of us were inside within seconds.

        “You’re such a tease,” Eren said as he leaned over the center console. He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me forward, our lips meeting in a frenzy. I bit down on his bottom lip hard enough to make him gasp, and then I slipped my tongue inside his mouth, moaning when he took control. Fuck. I loved how he could handle me with no problem at all.  

        “I don’t think you mind,” I told him when he moved down to suck on my neck.

        _Yes._ That felt good.

        “I don’t mind at all. Although, there is another part of me that minds plenty.”

        “Want me to come sit on your lap?”

        He leaned back far enough to make eye contact, and then groaned, “Goddamnit, Levi, I swear you’re going to kill me.”

        Before I could do anymore teasing, our cell phones rang at the exact same time. We exchanged confused looks and then dug them out of our pockets. I glanced down and saw Armin’s picture lighting up the screen. It was one I had taken of him while he wore his trademark bunny ears headband. He was winking at the camera.  

        “Hello?” I answered.

        “Tell me where you are,” was his response. That was an odd way to start a conversation, but okay.

        “Um, in my car with Eren. We just ate Thai food at Siam’s. Why? Is something wrong?”

        “No, no, nothing’s wrong. I’m just wondering where you guys are, because Isabel showed up at Eren’s apartment about twenty minutes ago and ended up at mine when he didn’t answer his door. She wants to take him out, and I want you to come over to my apartment after you drop him off, but don’t tell him where you’re going. Do you understand?”

        “What’s going on?”

        “Shh,” Armin hissed as though everyone in the whole world could hear me. “Trust me. I’ll explain everything when you get here.” He hung up before I had the chance to press for more information.

        I set my phone down on the center console, my brows pulling together in confusion. Well, that was suspicious. Leave it to Armin to give me no choice but to follow through with his sneaky plans in order to find out what was going on.

        “That was Iz,” Eren told me after he hung up with her. “She wants to hang out for a few hours. Do you want to meet up afterwards? We can go to the movies, or something. It’s not often that we get time off work. Might as well take advantage of it.”

        I smiled at him, glad that he hadn’t asked me who had called me. “Sure. Anything with you sounds good.”

        The drive back to Eren’s apartment complex was done in absolute silence. I was too busy trying to figure out what Armin was up to—a pointless thing to do, but I couldn’t help myself. Why would he want me to drop by his place without telling Eren about it? We were only three days away from my upcoming performance, so maybe it had something to do with that. Had he gone out and bought outfits for me to try on? If that were the case, then I could understand why he wanted to keep everything under wraps for the time being. He had a thing for great reveals.

        Pulling into Eren’s assigned parking space a good twenty minutes later, I noticed Izzy leaning up against the hood of her car a few spaces down. When she spotted us, she waved, looking nervous. I already knew why that was. She felt responsible for what had happened with Farlan yesterday, since she had brought him to the club with her, but both Eren and I explained that she wasn’t accountable for his actions. Farlan had acted of his own free will, and if he had any consideration for her—or me, for that matter—he wouldn’t have done what he did. The blame was his, and his alone.

        “Hey,” she said once we were out of the car and on the sidewalk. She smoothed out her white tank-top several times, the nervous look never leaving her face.

        I hugged her. “Hey yourself.” Then, into her ear, “No one is mad at you, okay? Stop feeling guilty.”

        She leaned back with a timid smile on her face. “I’m trying, but it’s hard.”

        “So, where are you taking me?” Eren chimed in, stretching his good arm above his head. I caught sight of the V-cut of his abs and wished I had just gotten on his lap back in the car.

        “You’ll see,” Isabel said. She wasn’t about to divulge any information. “Ready to go?”

        “Yeah, let’s go.” He turned to me and pecked me on the cheek. “Are you going to stay here, or head on home?”

        I was going to Armin’s apartment, but he wasn’t supposed to know that, so I said, “I think I’ll go home and tidy up my apartment.”

        Isabel rolled her eyes. “Your apartment is already spotless.”

        After we said our goodbyes, and they were pulling out of the complex in her red Honda Civic, I made my way up to Armin’s apartment. He lived on the third floor, right above Eren.

        Since you could never be sure with Armin, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. He was always full of surprises and, just when you thought you had him all figured out, he would turn around and prove you wrong time and time again. So I had no doubt that he had something in store for me. I just hoped that it wasn’t something ridiculous.

        Standing in front of his apartment, my stomach fluttering with nerves that wouldn’t quit, I rang the doorbell. Only seconds passed before the door flew open on its hinges, like he’d been waiting for me this whole time. I went to ask him what this was all about, but he grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me inside before I could utter a single word. When we were in his living room, which was dominated by an enormous bookcase that was stuffed full with books of various sizes, he said, “I’m going to need you to keep an open mind about this. Deal?”

        “Armin, enough with the secrecy. What is this about?”

        Walking around the arm of the couch, he grabbed something he had laid out on his entry table. When he lifted it up for me to see, my mouth dropped open in surprise. It was a woman’s nurse costume, complete with matching cap and thigh high fishnet stockings that connected to a lacy garter belt. There was also a stethoscope. I stared at the ensemble for several minutes, offering up a silent prayer to whatever God would listen that he wasn’t planning to put me in that for my grand performance. I wouldn’t be able to take myself seriously. I thought I would be wearing something a little edgier, something that I could pair with leather boots.

        “What do you think?” he asked.

        “Well, uh… I mean… I pictured wearing something a little different for my big debut.”

        He scoffed, and shot me a look that could freeze hell over. “Is that how little faith you have in me? I wouldn’t put you in this for your big night. Come on. I deserve more credit than that.”

        “What? If it’s not for that, then what’s it for?”

        Now a smirk lit up his face. “It’s a pick-me-up for Eren. Because of what happened last night, he won’t be able to work as the head of security during your first performance. He’s pretty upset about that, so I thought we could ease the blow with this.” He shook the nurse costume. “Roleplay, honey. It can work wonders.”

        “Roleplay?”

        “Hell yes. You put this baby on and then act like his nurse. You know, dress up his wound. Give him a sponge bath that will lead to more sexual things, if you know what I mean. Come on, Levi. Ease your boyfriend’s suffering by making him come a couple of times while wearing a sexy nurse outfit.”

        I choked on air. “Are you being serious right now? I can’t wear that. I’ll look stupid.”

        “You won’t. You’ll look irresistible, and Eren will thank me for this until the day he dies.”

        “Wait. Is that a thong?” I pushed aside the garter belt and saw a white thong. “Oh my god, Armin! Are you insane?”

        “First of all, it’s not a thong. It’s a G-string. And second of all, you’re going to put it on.”

        I shook my head. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to wear that.”

        Approximately forty minutes later, I was in the outfit, G-string and all. I was also in white stiletto pumps that no sane nurse would ever wear. I felt absurd, but Armin was looking at me as if I were his favorite child, the one that took after him.

        “This is glorious,” he said.

        “This is embarrassing,” I corrected.

        “When Eren fucks your brains out, you’ll thank me for this.”

 

\---

 

Eren and Isabel weren’t gone for long, an hour at the most, which made me think that she was a part of this devious plan that had me hiding in Eren’s bathroom in a nurse’s outfit that was short enough to reveal the very tops of my thighs. I was to stay in here until Armin gave me my cue, which was him announcing to Eren that he had hired him a personal nurse for the day. Then I was to come out looking innocent and cute (as Armin put it), and pretend that I was a total stranger that was here to take care of him and his needs.

        I was going to die of embarrassment. I was sure of it.

        When I heard them enter the apartment some time later, their voices robbing the place of silence, my heart gave a terrible lurch in my chest. I couldn’t believe that I had let Armin talk me into something like this. There was no way I could roleplay as a nurse without embarrassing myself to no end, but I couldn’t get out of it now. I could hear Armin leading Eren up the stairs to the second floor, no doubt suggesting that he should lie down for a while. You know, take a load off, so when I joined them, Eren would be lying on the bed, ready for my _services_.

        I was pacing around the bathroom when Armin finally said the words I was straining to hear. My heart stopped. I could’ve sworn it did, but then it picked up at an alarming rate. It took me a moment to regain any control over myself, and then I pulled open the door, knowing that if I didn’t go now, I wouldn’t go at all. As I walked through the living room to get to the stairs, I couldn’t hear anything over the sound of my heartbeat. It was loud and persistent in my ears.

        “What do you mean a personal nurse?” Eren asked as I started climbing the stairs. He couldn’t see me from where he sat on the bed. “Armin, what the hell are you up to? You do remember that I’m”—I made it to the second floor, blushing madly when his eyes traveled up the length of my body—“ta…ken… Fuck.” He was staring at me like he couldn’t believe I was real.

        I liked that reaction.

        Armin cleared his throat, giving me the stink eye, which reminded me that I had a line to recite.

        “My name is Levi,” I said, toying with the hem of my skirt. “I’ll be your nurse for the rest of the evening.”

        “You’re welcome, Eren,” Armin said, looking pleased with himself. Eren didn’t even pay attention, his eyes never once leaving me. “Take care of him, Levi. I’m counting on you.”

        I glared at him, but he paid no mind as he walked passed me. When I heard the sound of the front door shutting, I knew that I was supposed to do something, _say_ something, but I couldn’t do either.

        “Levi,” Eren said in a hopelessly sexual voice, “you don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter what Armin told you. If you want to get out of that outfit, you can.”

        “You don’t like it?”

        His eyes snapped up to mine. “Did you really just ask me that? I’m so hard it’s actually painful.”

        “Then let nurse Levi take care of you,” I said, grinning in spite of the embarrassment I felt seconds ago. As long as he kept looking at me like that, I found that I could do this. So I walked over to the bed and shoved him back against the pillows. He went willingly, his hand coming to rest on my hip when I straddled him. So much for acting professional. “Should we start with a sponge bath?” There wasn’t a sponge to be seen. “Looks like I don’t have a sponge, though. That means I’ll have to clean you with my mouth. Is there a specific part of your body that needs extra attention?”

        He slid his hand up my thigh. “Why don’t you tell me?”

        Instead of telling him, I crawled down his body until my mouth was hovering above the bulge in his jeans. I mouthed at it, satisfied when he let out a sharp gasp. “Should I clean this for you?”

        He bit down on his lip and nodded. Maintaining eye contact, I undid the fly of his jeans and slid my hand beneath the waistband of his boxers. My fingertips roamed down the underside of his cock while I pressed heated kisses to his abs, licking a trail up the V of muscle that drove me crazy with desire. He shuddered beneath me, his hand shooting down to bury itself in my hair. He tugged on the strands caught between his fingers as he rolled his hips up in a beckoning motion.  

        “Getting impatient?” I asked.

        “I’ve been impatient from the moment I saw you in that outfit.”

        I smirked and pushed his boxers down, tracing a prominent vein on his member with the tip of my tongue. His grip on my hair tightened before it disappeared completely, his hand coming to rest on the back of my neck. I took the hint for what it was and wrapped my lips around the head, feeling his piercing slide against the roof of my mouth as I moved down until I could feel him in the back of my throat, hot and hard and heavy. I moaned around him and his hips bucked up in response. I braced my arms on his thighs and let him fuck my mouth.

        “God…Levi.”

        I pulled my head back, and then pushed it forward again, keeping to a steady pace while he met me half way. Soon enough, he was throbbing hard against my tongue. I could tell he was close by how hard he was getting.

        “Levi,” Eren groaned, hips still pumping in an erratic tempo, like he couldn’t control himself, “I don’t want to come like this.”

        Looking up at him, I let him slide out of my mouth. Then I sat up and swung my leg over his waist. “How do you want to come, then?”

        “Inside you,” he said without hesitation, leaning to the side to pull open the top drawer of his nightstand. He grabbed the bottle of lube and then stopped, an unfathomable expression on his face. “Fuck. Help me take the sling off my arm.”

        “Why?”

        “I need my right hand right now.”

        I understood what he meant right away. His right hand was his dominant hand, but Armin had already thought of that, which was why I had prepared myself before I came to his apartment. Taking the bottle of lube from him, I popped open the cap and poured a liberal amount onto his cock, giving it a few strokes to spread it before I tossed the bottle aside without a care. Then, with a wiggle of my hips, I positioned him at my entrance. The G-string wasn’t so bad after all. It gave him easy access.

        “Wait,” Eren said, “I haven’t stretched you—ah, _fuck_.”

        I rose up on my knees and then slid back down again, taking more of him in. This was the first time we weren’t using a condom and I could feel _everything_ , his piercing brushing against that spot inside me until I was a shaking mess on top of him. With what little strength I had left, I rested my palms flat on his chest and began to ride him in earnest, my thighs quivering as I set a pounding rhythm. I was moaning in a way that would have been embarrassing if I could think, but I couldn’t think at all, too lost in the sensations created whenever he slid back into me.

        Fuck, _yes._ He felt so good inside me.

        “Eren,” I moaned, head falling back. “Faster.” I was so close.

        He drove his hips up, meeting me thrust for thrust. I gazed down at him, wanting to memorize how he looked at this exact moment: beads of sweat on his forehead, cheeks flushed with exertion, irises drowned out by his dilated pupils. _Perfect, so perfect._

“Levi I’m…” he broke off on a moan, but I knew what he wanted to tell me.

        “Come inside me.”

        In one quick movement, he sat up and kissed me, our tongues clashing together as he began to come deep inside me, his member jerking until he was emptied. I followed straight after, too sensitive, too stimulated, and tangled my fingers in his hair. I ground my hips in circles, coming untouched, the intensity of it overwhelming as uncontrollable pleasure assaulted me in waves. I kissed him all the while, running my tongue over his, greedy for his taste. When it began to die down, I sagged against him, our chests moving together in harsh breaths.

        After a recovered, which took a while, I said, “That was…”

        “Mind blowing?” Eren suggested, kissing my neck.

        “Yeah.”

        “You should let Armin dress you up more often.”

        I laughed, giving him a playful smack on the shoulder. “No. I was so embarrassed.”

        “Didn’t seem that way to me after you got started.” He flashed me a crooked smile that he knew was one of my weaknesses.

        “Shut up. I get carried away with you, okay?”

        “Mm,” he hummed while he ran his lips over my collarbone, “I’m glad that you do.”

        “I bet you are. Now come on. Let’s clean up.”

        Before I could move, he wrapped his good arm around my waist and asked, “Are you still up for going to the movies? Because I still want to take you out on a date.”

        I cupped his face and kissed him on the tip of the nose. “I already told you. I’m up for anything with you.”    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever I sit down to update, I forget everything I was going to say in both the beginning and ending notes. ?????  
> I swear, but thank you guys for your constant support. Thank you to everyone who comments often, regardless if I respond or not. I consider you guys my friends. Seriously. I'm familiar with your usernames, and I smile whenever I read your comments.
> 
> Just thank you!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took two weeks to update. Microsoft Office deleted this chapter off my computer last week, so I had to write it from scratch, which ended up giving me intense writer's block, because I was so frustrated. Needless to say, let's hope I can get back to regular updates after this one. *crosses fingers*
> 
> Now, let me point you to some fanart I received --> [(x)](http://unofficialneet.tumblr.com/post/145267424180/warriorflesh-unofficialneet-currently)  
> It's nurse Levi! AH! I love it.
> 
> Here's another fanart that I requested from one my favorite artist's --> [(x)](http://artistiq-.tumblr.com/post/145278074389/for-the-absolutely-lovely-warriorflesh-older)  
> It's seriously perfect! The artists' in this fandom are so talented. <3

Since tomorrow was my big performance, I decided to stay in tonight and relax. So I was lounging on my couch in an oversized T-shirt with a box of macarons in my lap. In front of me, on the coffee table, was a green tea smoothie with Boba. I had everything I needed for a comfortable night in, yet I couldn’t concentrate on the movie I’d put on over fifteen minutes ago. I missed Eren, but he was hanging out with the guys at the warehouse tonight. Since we had been spending so much time together lately, he hadn’t been there in quite a while. I didn’t want him to lose contact with his fighting buds, so I thought a boys’ night was a good idea. Still, I couldn’t help but wish he were here with me.

        With a sigh, I picked up a raspberry macaron and took a bite out of it. I couldn’t follow the movie with how much I’d already missed and the thought of starting it over didn’t appeal to me in the least. I ended up shutting off the TV in favor of picking up my cell phone and sending Eren a quick text message to see how his night was going so far. I hoped that he was having a better time than I was.

        **_Levi: Having fun?_**

He replied a few minutes later.

        **_Eren: Not really. I can’t fight, so watching the match is making me restless. How about you?_**

I stared down at the half eaten macaron I’d placed on my thigh. Pink crumbs were scattered on the couch beside my leg. Yeah, my night definitely could’ve been going better.

        **_Levi: I’m at home watching a movie, so it’s been an okay night. At least I’m not stressing about my performance._**

**_Eren: You’re going to do great, and I’m going to be right there in front of the stage to cheer you on throughout your performance._ **

I grinned like a moron as I read over the text, because I remembered the outfit Armin had picked out for me. I couldn’t wait to see Eren’s reaction when he saw me in it tomorrow night. Especially after he enjoyed seeing me roleplay as a nurse.

        **_Levi: You’re the only person in the crowd I’ll be looking at, but I should let you get back to your friends. I don’t want to ruin your night with my pestering. Have fun!_**

After I sent the text, I picked up the abandoned macaron and popped the rest of it into my mouth with a grin on my face. I’d come a long way since I stumbled into that run down diner all those months ago and met Eren for the first time. If I hadn’t accepted the job to watch over one of his fights, where would I be now? There was no way for me to know that, but I was happy that I didn’t back down from the offer back then. Although I’d changed a lot since that night, I was grateful for the personal growth. I had more confidence in myself than I ever did before. I was proud of who I was becoming, and all the people I cared about supported me. That was enough for me.

        Settling back against the couch cushions with my box of snacks in hand, I turned the TV back on and restarted the movie. As the beginning credits were playing, my cell phone vibrated next to me. I picked it up and read the text.

        **_Eren: You’re not pestering me. I miss you like fucking crazy. Can I come see you later on tonight?_**

My cheeks were going to burst if I kept smiling this wide.

        **_Levi: Yeah, just come by my place when you’re through at the warehouse._**

**_Eren: Ok. I love you._ **

**_Levi: I love you too._ **

I put my phone down on the coffee table and returned my attention to the TV screen. Within the first few minutes of watching, I got absorbed in the movie, even when it was just another cliché love story that was far too predictable to be entertaining. By the time it was over, all four of my macarons long gone, it was only nine o’clock. I could either watch another movie to pass the time, or read a book I’d checked out at the library earlier. There was no question about it. Books always won. I would never change in that department.

        I’d just turned off the TV when my phone began to ring, sounding loud in the small space as it vibrated against the coffee table. I picked it up in a hurry and saw that it was Armin, his picture smiling back at me.

        “Hey, Armin,” I answered, cheerful.

        “Get snazzy quick, bitch. We’re going out on the town. Our boyfriends are at the warehouse to have some fun, so we are hitting up a gay club and tearing shit up for the rest of the night.”

        I pulled the phone away from my face to gape at it for several seconds. Then I pressed it to my ear again and said, “What?”

        “You. Me. Gay club,” he repeated, sounding exasperated. I could practically hear the eye roll in his voice. “I expect you dressed and ready to go by the time I get to your apartment. Don’t make me wait, or you will regret it. We have shit to do!” He hung up without another word.

        Of course he did.

        No matter how you looked at this, I was going to end up at that gay club with him tonight. Armin was a determined little fireball that couldn’t be evaded under any circumstances. So unless I wanted to end up looking like a fashion diva on a mission to spread the gay for the greater good, it was better to go and get dressed before he got to my apartment. Otherwise he would stuff me into the most revealing clothing I owned and provide me with accessories that sparkled. He was dependable that way.

        In my room, I scanned my closet for something casual—and not flashy—to wear. I settled on a black hoodie T-shirt and blue jeans. It wasn’t anything snazzy, that was for sure, but it was comfortable. That’s all that mattered to me. Armin would have to deal with my dull ass for the rest of the night.

        As I was putting on my shoes, someone rang the doorbell. I offered up a small prayer for strength to make it through the night in one piece, and then went to go answer it.

        The moment I pulled open the door, Armin twirled around to show off his rather fitting outfit and said, “I look tasty, don’t I?”

        Considering he was wearing black leather pants that fit him like a glove, I knew what _ass_ et he was trying to show off. “Exquisite,” I said.

        “I know, honey. You, on the other hand, look like you’re about to go shopping at the mall with your grandma. I thought I said to dress snazzy?”

        “This _is_ my snazzy.”

        He rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Levi Ackerman. You’re lucky I’m in a good mood tonight, because I have the strongest urge to give you a makeover before we head out, but we have places to be.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me out of my apartment. “Come on, let’s get this show on the road.”

 

\---

 

The club was packed to the brim when we got there a little after nine-thirty. The line outside the double doors was long enough to wrap around the building as people waited to be let inside, but none of that seemed to bother Armin any, because he strolled right up to the bouncer behind the stanchions like he’d done it a million times before. Armin waved his hand to get the bouncer’s attention, and then said, “Hi, Paul. Please let my fabulous ass in. I’m in no mood to wait tonight.”

        I looked up at Paul, who was a burly blonde with a body that reminded me of The Hulk on one of his bad days, and fully expected him to tell us both to get lost. Or at least to go to the back of the line. But instead he smiled and lifted the velvet rope with no hesitation whatsoever. “Come on in, Armin. You know you’re always welcomed here.” His eyes flicked over to me. “Who’s this? I haven’t seen him with you before.”

        “A delicious friend,” Armin replied with a smirk. “His name is Levi. Isn’t he adorable? I could just eat him right up.”

        Paul gave me a nod of his head. “Absolutely adorable. Welcome to Club Flex, Levi. Any friend of Armin’s is a friend of mine.”

        Club Flex? Wow.

        “Um, thank you,” I said, not knowing what else to say to that.

        “Just hold out your hands, so I can stamp you.”

        We held our hands out and waited for Paul to fish out the stamper from his back pocket. Once he stamped our wrists, and we were allowed entry, Armin dragged me into the club that smelled like cheap booze and sweaty bodies. We pushed our way through a throng of men of various sizes and found an empty table near the dance floor. “Do you want something to drink?” Armin asked after I took a seat in the booth. He had to shout in order to be heard over the blaring music.

        “No thanks. I’m good.”

        He glared daggers at me that threatened to pierce directly through my soul. “We’re at a club. You’re getting something to drink. Do you want a Slippery Nipple?”

        “A what?” I sputtered.

        “It’s a cocktail shooter. You know what? Just wait here for me. I’m getting you a damn drink.”

        “But I’m not twenty-one yet!”

        “Oh, shush it up. You’re turning twenty-one in six months. Plus, I know everyone here, so there are no excuses. You need to relax and have some fun tonight. Let loose for once!” He left me sitting there with my jaw on the floor. I should’ve known that he would try to intoxicate me with alcoholic beverages that had _nipple_ in their titles. What the hell was even in a Slippery Nipple? Hopefully it didn’t taste like what it was named after.

        I was going to find out soon enough.

        While I waited for him to get back with our questionable drinks, I slipped my fingers into my pocket and pinched the top of my cell phone between thumb and forefinger to pull it out. With it in hand, I texted Eren that I was out with Armin at a club that was gayer than me, and that he could use the key I’d given him to come into my apartment if I wasn’t home by the time he was done at the warehouse. I hoped that I was home by then. Even though I worked at a club, being at one for fun wasn’t exactly my thing. There were so many people here, all looking intensely happy, or downright sad and lost.

        I was beginning to grow uneasy when I spotted Armin coming my way. He was holding a plastic platter that was carrying an abundance of shots. He placed it on the table in front of me and shouted, “Take your pick. We have four of each.” He pointed to one topped with whip cream. “This one is a Blow Job. This one here is a Cocksucking Cowboy—I think you’ll like that one for obvious reasons. And then we have a Slippery Nipple.”

        I peered up at him like he’d gone mad. “Are you being serious with these?”

        “Of course. Here.” He handed me a Cocksucking Cowboy. “Drink it down.”

        I took the drink from him, thought about what I was getting myself into, and drank the damn thing down all at once. It tasted awful, my face scrunching up with the bitterness that hit the back of my throat like fire. When the worst of it subsided, I put the shot glass down on the table and said in a calm voice, “Give me another one.”

        Might as well.

        “That’s what I’m talking about!” Armin yelled, placing another shot in my hand.

        I drank this one just as fast as the first and slammed the glass down on the table. I’d always wanted to do that since I’d seen it in a movie. “I feel like dancing.”

        “Then let’s get your ass on that dance floor.” He tugged me to my feet.

        To say I was a lightweight would be the understatement of the year. I only had two shots under my belt and already it felt like I was walking on clouds that were leading straight to euphoria. The sensation was strange, one I’d never experienced before tonight, but I couldn’t even bring myself to care. All I wanted to do was dance until my legs gave out from under me. That’s what I was aiming for as I began to sway to the fast paced music that seemed to move right through me, pulling me along to the beat. I wasn’t even aware that Armin was beside me all the while, keeping men at bay.

        “He’s taken,” I heard him shout to a man that was creeping closer to me with an intent expression that made him look sort of constipated. The guy could pass as a bad version of Freddy Mercury. “So back the hell up, or so help me, I will knee your dick until it falls off. Try me, bitch. Make my night.”

        Surprisingly, the guy backed away, looking annoyed. I was thoroughly impressed.

        “You go, Armin!” I shouted, smiling wide. My voice sounded so loud in my ears.

        “Keep dancing!” he encouraged.

        My body began to feel like it was made of elastic, every limb loose and boneless. I probably looked idiotic as I danced with reckless abandon, but I didn’t care. I felt great, heat traveling up my spine and igniting my body in a warm glow that caused me to sweat. I could stay like this forever. Or so I thought, because a few songs later, I started to teeter to the side. If Armin didn’t grab me by the arm to steady me, I definitely would’ve toppled over and smashed into the floor.

        “I think that’s enough dancing for now,” he said, leading me toward our table.

        “But I was having fun.”

        “I know, and that’s good, but we don’t need you hurting yourself. You have to perform tomorrow.” He pushed down on my shoulders to get me to sit in the booth. “Also, I don’t think Eren would be happy with me if I returned you with bruises.”

        I giggled (I really did). “Eren’s hot.”

        “And you’re drunk,” Armin added.

        I probably was.

        Even still, when I saw that the platter was still on the table, I picked up a Slippery Nipple, inspected it for foul play, and then drank it, tipping my head back dramatically. “I might be after this.”

        He scoffed. “Don’t make me carry your ass out of here.”

        “No, not yet. Let’s dance a little more. Please?”

        “Fine.”

        We went back out onto the dance floor and all I was aware of was the music and the need to move. Everything else was blurred around the edges, becoming unimportant. It remained that way for the better part of the night, all my senses muddled and foggy to the point where sounds felt like they were pressing in on my head with physical fingers. I couldn’t even remember when I stopped dancing, or when Armin had led me out of the club toward the parking lot. I was only slightly conscious of being stowed away in the backseat of his car, but as he began to drive, I let the rhythmic hum of the engine lull me into a stupor.

        When we arrived at my apartment complex, I was a bit better. I was aware of the rain pelting down on the roof of Armin’s car, and I wondered how we were going to make it up to my apartment without getting soaking wet.

        “Here we go,” Armin said as he pulled open the back to. “Do you think you can walk?”

        “I’m not sure. Maybe.”

        He helped me out of the car and I wrapped my arm around the back of his neck to keep myself steady. Walking turned out to be harder than I expected it to be, because my legs felt as heavy as lead, which made walking normal impossible. I had acquired an awkward, shuffling gait that slowed me down. If this was what being drunk felt like, then I didn’t like it one bit. The euphoria I’d experienced earlier was gone, replaced with a groggy, persistent confusion that left me with little control over my own body. What was the allure of being in this state? I would never understand.

        We took shelter from the rain under a tree, and then Armin took his cell phone out of his pocket and pushed several buttons before he held it to his ear. “Eren?” he said a little while later. “I’m in front of Levi’s apartment complex and I’m going to need some help getting him upstairs. Are you here?” Silence while he listened to whatever Eren was saying to him. Then, “He’s drunk, all right? That’s why I need your help. Sue me for wanting to show him a good time. Just get your happy ass down here and help me with your boyfriend.” He hung up and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. “He’s coming down.”

        “Mkay,” I said.

        When Eren showed up a few minutes later, he took one look at me reclining against the trunk of the tree and said, “Armin, what the hell?”

        “Oh, be quiet. He’s fine. He’s just a lightweight. Come grab him before he falls on his plump ass.”

        That got Eren moving. He came up to where I was slumped over and lifted me up into his arms. I buried my face against his neck. He smelled so good and familiar. I was instantly comforted, which made me that more tired. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed next to him and sleep away the rest of the night.

        “I’m going take him in. He’s freezing,” Eren told Armin. “Are you going to be okay to drive? Please tell me you didn’t drink.”

        “Who do you think you’re talking to, bitch? Do you think I would risk this luscious ass with drunk driving? Honey, please.”

        Eren chuckled. “I was just making sure. I wouldn’t want you to get into a car crash. I mean, heaven forbid that you ruin that luscious ass.”

        “That’s right,” Armin said. “I’ll always protect the booty. Now take him up already. I’ll text you when I get home.”

        “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. Drive safely.”

        “You know I will.”

        After that, Eren walked me up to my apartment, keeping me pressed against him all the while to keep the droplets of rain from falling on my face. Still, by the time we made it inside, we were both wet.

        “Do you want to take a quick shower to warm up?” Eren asked as he tugged off my shoes. He tossed them to the side, along with my socks.

        “Only if you take one with me.”

        He kissed the side of my head. “Okay.”

        Inside the bathroom, he lowered the lid of the toilet and sat me down on top of it. He instructed me to lift my arms, so I did, shaking as he coaxed my shirt up and over my head. He threw the wet fabric into the sink, and then got to work on my jeans. When I was naked, he started up the shower, waiting for it to warm before he began to undress.

        “Sorry I got drunk,” I said when he picked me up again.

        “Don’t be. Did you have fun at least?”

        “Mhm. I danced. It was nice until I started feeling dizzy and confused.”

        “You’ll be fine once you sleep it off.” He stepped into the shower and I stayed against him. The warm water washed over us, heating me up in seconds. I knew that I smelled of sweat and Slippery Nipples, but I was too tired to wash it off. “Here. Let me wash you up real quick,” he said, almost like he read my mind.

        I leaned my head back and looked up at him as he squirted some of my shampoo onto his palm. He worked it into my hair and I hummed in approval, my eyes closing of their own accord as I relaxed under his touch. I could get used to something like this, although I didn’t have any plans on getting drunk anytime soon. I’d much rather stay sober.

        When Eren was done washing my hair, he flipped our positions. “Lean your head back a little.” I did and he ran his fingers through my hair again, washing out the suds of shampoo.

        “I love you,” I said. “Who knew that one of the hottest guys I’ve ever met could be so tender and thoughtful. I consider myself very lucky. I hope you know that.”

        He faltered, his fingers going still on my head. When he recovered, he smiled in that shy way that I still wasn’t familiar with. But how I loved it. “I love you too, Levi.”

        After he washed my body with patience, he helped me out of the shower and dried me off. By then, I was exhausted. I yearned for sleep, so when he carried me out to the bed, I didn’t even bother putting on a pair of boxers. I lifted up the blanket and got under it, keeping it raised so that Eren could do the same. As he laid down next to me, I let the blanket fall over us, cocooning us in darkness and warmth.

        “Thank you for taking care of me,” I whispered, pressing my body to his.

        He wrapped his arm around my waist. “Anytime.” Pressing his lips to my forehead, he said, “Sleep, Levi.”

         

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be in Eren's POV and it will be Levi's big performance! I'm so excited to finally write it!
> 
> Thank you for reading and leaving kudos. I always look forward to feedback. :)


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've once again been blessed with more fanart. You can view it [here.](http://warriorflesh.tumblr.com/post/145588024004/unofficialneet-whoops-my-hand-slipped-again)
> 
> Thank you, unofficialneet! I love it.

_ Eren’s POV _

 

At six in the morning, I stood out on the balcony in the frigid morning air. The parking lot was empty, which I considered a good thing, seeing as I hadn’t bothered to put on any clothes. If anyone showed up right now, they would get an eyeful of everything below my waistline. I grinned as I thought about the scene that would cause, and pulled the lit cigarette from my mouth, blowing out a cloud of smoke that dissipated in seconds. I had cut down to a few a day by sheer willpower, but I was determined to quit before Levi’s birthday in a few months. Although he wasn’t pressuring me into this, we both knew nothing good could come from smoking, so I started a regimen of Nicotine patches and Nicorette gum without him knowing about it.

        I folded my arms on top of the railing and leaned forward. Levi would be performing for the first time tonight. It didn’t matter how many times I tried to come to terms with it, I was still pissed that I wouldn’t be able to work as the head of security. I’d tried to convince Mikasa to let me, despite my injured arm, but she wouldn’t budge on the matter. She was dead set on giving me time to heal and rest up, even after I insisted that I’d already spent the last three days doing that. I didn’t need any more time. Of course it didn’t matter what I thought, because she was the one that ran the club and called the shots.

        I glared down at the gauze covering my stab wound and cursed.

        “Such foul language so early in the morning,” Levi said as he came strolling out of his apartment with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders to protect him from the cool breeze. He glared at me as though I were at fault for the weather. “How can you smoke out here right now? It’s too nipply.”

        “Nipply?” I smiled around the cigarette.

        “Nipply,” he confirmed, coming to stand behind me to wrap his arms around my stomach. He pressed the side of his face against my back and hummed in content. “Mm, you’re so warm.”

        “What do you want for breakfast this morning? I’ll make you anything on your big day.”

        “Porridge and tea.”

        I tapped my cigarette out and turned around to face him. His hair was a wild mess of tangled puffs on top of his head. It was horribly adorable. “If that’s what you want, then that’s what I’ll make.” I took his face between my hands and squished his cheeks. He whined and batted at my arm. “You’re so cute.”

        “No,” he grumbled, the word coming out slurred through his pursed lips. “I’m manly.”

        “Did I say you weren’t manly? You’re incredibly manly. I mean, I get lost in your manliness on a daily basis.”

        “Shut up. You’re so mean. Not everyone can have a defined six pack like you, you ass.”

        I kissed the side of his mouth. “I love your body just the way it is, though. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Now let’s go inside. If you didn’t remember, I have porridge to make.”

        We went back into his apartment and I closed the sliding door behind us. The first thing Levi did was walk over to his dresser to pull open the top drawer. He spent a considerable amount of time rummaging through his socks before he found a pair of black boxer-briefs he was satisfied with. I watched as he made a show of dropping the blanket from his shoulders, the fabric pooling at his feet in a heap of blue. Then, slowly, he bent down and slipped the underwear on. When he snapped the band in place, he looked at me over his shoulder with a wicked little grin on his face.

        “You’re such a tease,” I said, not minding whatsoever.

        “What are you talking about? I’m just practicing for tonight. Maybe you should get your head out of the gutter.”

        “I will once you stop teasing me.”

        He ignored me in favor of glancing down at my exposed lower half. “Looks like you’re going commando this morning, because I’m not going to let you wear the same boxers you had on last night. That’s gross.”

        “You act like I’ve never gone commando before.” I scooped up my jeans from off the floor and slipped them on. “Take my word for it, I’m going to prepare the best breakfast you’ve ever eaten while I’m not wearing underwear.”

        Levi wrinkled his nose. “Way to kill my appetite.”

        I slipped my thumbs into the two belt loops on the front of my jeans and purposely pushed the rough material down over my hipbones, low enough to reveal my happy trail. His eyes shot down to follow the movement. “Sure about that?”

        “That’s not even fair.” He pointed at me in an accusatory way that made him look like an angry hamster that was about to attack—too cute for words. “You know your V-cut and happy trail are my ultimate weaknesses! That’s foul play!”

        “Still yelling when you’re nervous, I see,” I said.

        “I’m not nervous. I’m yelling because I’m mad! So mad... I’m seeing red!”

        I laughed. “God, I love you. I really do.”

        His eyes widened, and then he covered his face with his hands, but not before I caught a glimpse of the blush spreading across his cheeks in a deep shade of pink. “Little cheater,” he mumbled, voice muffled against his palms. “You can’t just drop that on me without any type of warning.”

        “Why not?” I walked up to him and wrapped my hands around his wrists to pull them away from his face. He stared up at me, the flush in his cheeks deepening. I kissed the warm skin there. “It’s true.”

        He crossed his arms in false imitation of anger. “J-just go make breakfast.”

        “Okay. Don’t get flustered now,” I said in a teasing tone. Then I went into the kitchenette and hunted through his cabinets for the ingredients I would need to make porridge. When I had everything set out on the counter, I put a small sauce pan on the stove burner and added water, almond milk, cauli-oats, and flax to it. Although I’d made this for Levi several times over the past few months, I had never tried it myself. Vegan food just wasn’t for me. It always tasted bland in comparison to other things I enjoyed eating, though I would never admit that to him. This was his lifestyle and I wasn’t about to inject it with negativity. 

        After the oats were cooked, I poured some into a bowl and topped it off with sliced bananas, granola clusters, and a few pinches of cinnamon. I set it down on the table while Levi made green tea.

        “That smells good,” he said as he came to stand beside me with an absurdly small mug in hand. He turned his head and leaned up on tiptoes to kiss me. “Thank you.”

        “You’re welcome.”

        “What are you going to eat?”

        I leaned to the side and picked up a banana as a last minute resort. He didn’t like when I didn’t eat breakfast. “This.”

        “That’s not enough for someone your size.”

        “I’ll pick up something after we leave.”

        “Okay. You better,” he said while he went to sit down at the dining table.

        As he ate his porridge with a book in his free hand, I went through the text messages I’d received while we slept. Most of them were from Jean and Mikasa, reminding me that I was supposed to be meeting up with them in a couple of hours to go over tonight’s security plans and also to touch base on Levi’s after party, which was a secret I somehow managed to keep from him. He had no idea about our plans for when the curtains came down, but everyone wanted to celebrate his first performance, so we all pitched in—me the most. Last night, when I was supposed to be at the warehouse, I’d made the boys’ lug a bunch of shit to the club. None of them minded too much, because they all knew how much Levi meant to me. I had never tried to keep it a secret.

        “You’re meeting Armin at the dance studio after this, right?” I asked.

        “Yeah, he wants to practice the routine a couple of times and make some last minute outfit adjustments.”

        “Okay, I’ll drop you off there before I head over to the club.”

        Out of nowhere, he clapped his hands together several times. When I looked up at him questioningly, he said in a rush, “I’m sorry, but it’s all happening _tonight._ I’ve waited for this for so long, and now I’m really nervous and excited.”

        “You’re going to do fine.” I reached across the table and took his hand. “I’m proud of you, Levi.”

        “You’re going to make me emotional on top of everything else.”

        “Wouldn’t want that. Your mascara might run.”

        He rolled his eyes. “That’s exactly why I don’t want to cry.”

        “I’m serious, though. I’m really proud of you.”

        He squeezed my hand and stared at me shyly over the rim of his glasses. “That means a lot coming from you.”

 

\---

 

Half an hour before the club opened for the night, I knocked on Levi’s dressing room door. Technically speaking, I wasn’t supposed to be here. Armin had made it all too clear that he didn’t want me seeing him before the performance was underway, but I needed to know how he was holding up. Plus, I tried calling him before I ended up here, but it went straight to voicemail every time, so I couldn’t even be blamed for resorting to this. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

        Just as I was about to knock again, the door swung open and my jaw dropped to the floor. Levi stood in the doorway in nothing but tight leather shorts, black sheer stockings, white cuffs, and black heeled boots that went up past his knees. “You’re not supposed to be here,” he said in a low, teasing tone, drawing my attention to his face. He toyed with the collar bow tie around his neck. “You’re being a bad boy, Eren Jaeger.”

        I licked my lips, but couldn’t formulate words. Fuck, how was he expecting me to speak when he looked like that?

        “Are you coming in or not?” he asked after I stood there like an idiot for several minutes. I went to answer, or attempt to, but he took matters into his own hands and reached out to take hold of my belt. He tugged me into his dressing room that way, and I basically kicked the door shut behind us. “So”—he released my belt and turned around to gaze at me as he slowly walked backwards toward the vanity table—“want to tell me what you’re doing here?” He leaned back against the table and stared at me in a way that made me groan aloud.

        Realizing he was waiting for an answer, I said, “I came to check how you were doing.”

        “Is that all?” He lifted himself up onto the table and crossed his legs as he grabbed the edge with both hands. He leaned forward, eyes boring into mine as he added, “How disappointing.”

        God help me. I was ten seconds away from losing any and all control I possessed.

        “You have to perform soon,” I argued, but it came out sounding like a growl.

        “You don’t think I can afford to get a little dirty before then?”

        Oh, fuck it.

        I closed the distance between us and grabbed his face to claim his mouth with nothing but uncontrolled yearning. I was desperate for the taste of him, so I slid my tongue under his and turned my head to deepen the kiss. He moaned as he buried his fingers in my hair, but then he yanked on the strands hard enough to draw my head back and break our lips apart. I looked at him, breathing fast.

        “Naughty boys don’t get to do whatever they want,” he said in a hoarse voice.

        My cock throbbed hard in response to his words. “What do naughty boys get?”

        “They get punished.” Lifting his leg, he pressed the toe of his boot to my uninjured shoulder and pushed me back. I watched as he ran the tip of his finger up his thigh. “They don’t get to touch, either. So turn around.” I wasted no time in doing what he asked. He grabbed me by the wrists and bound them together with something silky. When he was through, he put his hands on my arms and spun me back around to face him. I glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes till show time.

        My eyes snapped back to Levi’s when the underside of his boot made contact with my groin. He moved the ball of his foot in a circular motion, applying just enough pressure to make me push back against it. I didn’t think I could come this way, but then he slipped his hand into his shorts and began to stroke himself. My hips jerked forward in desperate search of more friction, even when I knew he wouldn’t give it to me.

        “Do naughty boys get to come?” he asked in a breathy voice that was far too tempting. “Or do they get to wait?” The answer was obvious, but if he made me wait, I was going to end up killing every guy who looked at him tonight.

        “Listen—”

        The door flew open behind me, the knob banging against the wall with the force. “Levi! It’s almost time! Aren’t you…” A long pause, followed by, “Tell me I’m not seeing what I’m seeing?”

        “Shit,” I muttered.

        Taking his hand out of his shorts, Levi said, “Um, hi, Armin.”

        “Don’t you dare give me that innocent act,” Armin hissed, coming around to stare me down with a glare that promised pain. “I thought I told you not to come in here. Dammit, Eren! Why can’t you ever listen?” He suddenly looked down at the evident swell in my jeans and smiled in a cruel way. “Serves you right, you little perv.”

        “I was actually going to finish him off,” Levi said.

        I groaned in agony and despair. “Armin, see what you’ve done?”

        “Excuse you. I haven’t done anything. You need to get your tart ass out of here before I kill that boner with a jiu-jitsu kick. Levi is about to go on and I will not let your dick get in the way of things.”

        “Fine,” I relented. “Just untie me.”

        Levi gave me an apologetic look as he hopped off the table. When he reached behind me to loosen the fabric around my wrists, he leaned up and whispered into my ear, “I’ll take care of you after my performance.”

        “Don’t even worry about that right now,” I said. “Focus on your performance.” But before he could step away, I put my hands on his ass and lifted him up against me. “Afterwards, though, I’m going to fuck you in those boots.”

        He bit my lower lip, tongue darting out to lick the spot straight after. “Going to bend me over my vanity table?”

        “That is enough,” Armin interrupted, pointing at the clock. “We need to get going, and you don’t even have on your vest or bunny ears yet.”

        I put Levi down, knowing that we couldn’t waste any more time than we already had, and he rushed over to the vanity table the second his feet were on the ground. After he took his glasses off and tucked them into a case that he’d stuck in one of the drawers, he went about putting on contact lenses.

        “I hate these,” he said, blinking several times after he put the first one in.

        Armin smacked him on the ass before he slid the black bunny ears headband into place from behind. “Your glasses would fall off with all the moving we’re going to be doing tonight. That would ruin the flow of things, now wouldn’t it?” He turned around and looked at me. “If you want a spot in front of the stage, I suggest you go out there right now. Jean’s going to be opening the front doors soon, and there are a lot of people here tonight.”

        “Okay, I’ll head out in a minute,” I said. I went up to Levi and kissed him on the top of the head. “Good luck.” I watched his reflection smile in response, and then I left the dressing room to let him finish getting ready.

        The dance floor was already crowded by the time I got out there a couple minutes later, but in spite of that, I still managed to snag a spot in front of the stage. That was probably because a lot of people recognized me and allowed me to pass them with no trouble. Even if someone had tried to stop me, I wouldn’t have had a problem decking them into tomorrow—wounded arm be damned. No one was going to get in the way of me seeing Levi’s first performance up close and personal. This was only going to happen once.

        While I was getting settled in, I heard, “What are you doing down there, Eren?”

        “Fuck,” I muttered, the feedback from the earpiece causing me to flinch. I’d forgotten that I had put it in earlier. Once I recovered, I said, “I’m not planning to do anything stupid, so don’t go jumping on my ass now, Mikasa.”

        “Really? So if someone attempts anything with Levi, you’ll sit there and do nothing?”

        “If by sitting here and doing nothing you mean kicking someone’s ass, then yes. That’s exactly what I’ll do.”

        She sighed. “That’s why I wanted you to stay behind the bar with Marco. If you strain that arm too much, it can cause permanent damage to the nerves. Is that what you want?”

        “Mikasa, I can’t see the stage from behind the bar. Did you really think I would miss Levi’s first performance? Let’s be honest here.”

        “No,” she admitted. “Just be careful, okay? Don’t start anything, if you don’t have to.”

        “Okay.” I shut off the earpiece just in case she decided to change her mind.

        Right after I spoke, she strode onto the stage with Jean and Thomas trailing behind her. After they took their spots beside the cages, Mikasa brought the microphone she held up to her mouth and said, “Are you guys ready to welcome our new male dancer Levi?” The crowd hollered their approval. “Then let’s get things started.”

        All but one light dimmed. The remaining one trained on the walkway, where Levi stood in front of the pole with his hands on his hips. Seeing him caused my heart to thud wildly in my chest. He looked so confident in himself, gazing out at the crowd with a teasing smirk on his lips. When his eyes landed on me, he winked, and my chest swelled with pride. Everyone here may want him, but he was mine.

        Levi held his hand out to the side and snapped his fingers. In response, Jean slipped a leather crop into his awaiting hand and Levi cracked the end against his thigh just as the music began to play. He swayed his hips in time with the beat of the song and grabbed both ends of the crop to raise it above his head as he pressed his back to the pole behind him. Keeping his eyes fixed on me, he moved down the pole until his ass was practically touching the stage. I was so turned on by this that it amazed me how I was able to stand still. All I wanted to do was go up there with him.

        The crop snapped against the stage floor when he moved forward to come onto his hands and knees. My heart leaped into my throat at the sight of him on all fours. Noticing my reaction, he bit down on his bottom lip and started crawling toward the edge of the stage in the most seductive way possible. Reaching the edge, he leaned toward me, our lips coming together in a kiss that was way too passionate to be done in front of a roomful of people, but everyone clapped and cheered us on. Even if they hadn’t responded that way, I would have kept on kissing him. In fact, if Levi didn’t lean back, I would’ve dragged him right off the stage.

        He smiled mischievously—he knew what he did to me—and stood up. He sauntered back to the center of the walkway and lifted his leg to wrap it around the pole, shifting the weight of his body forward so that he could begin to spin. He raised his arms above his head before he curled inward and grabbed the pole with both hands, contorting his body in a way that left me speechless.

        I knew he was flexible, but fuck, I had no idea that it went this far.

        By the time Armin came out to join him, my body was on fire. I didn’t know how much more of this I could take.

        The music melted into a new, slower song and the crowd shouted both their names as they met up in between the cages, turning their backs to one another to take hold of the cage bars in front of them. They started moving their hips in slow circles, their asses almost touching as their backs dipped with the movement, which drove everyone crazy. I just kept my eyes on Levi. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him even if I tried. I almost groaned when he grabbed his ankle and brought his foot above his head, stretching his body out beautifully. I wanted to be down on my knees in front of him.

        When the song picked up, both Levi and Armin circled their individual cages, running their hands along the bars. They stopped when they reached the doors, and pulled them open at the same time, stepping inside. I saw Levi move his lips and I realized that he had an earpiece in to talk to Armin. How could I have forgotten about that.

        I raised my hand to my own earpiece and turned it back on, impatience making my movements jerky. I heard it crackle to life and I cupped my hand over the mouthpiece. I said, “Levi?”

        Several minutes of silence, and then, “Eren? Before you say anything, remember everyone can hear us on these.”

        “Does it look like I give a fuck?”

        He laughed and I drank in the sound. “Did I look okay out there?”

        “Are you kidding me right now? You looked amazing. I’m practically dead right now.”

        At that, Armin said, “You looked it. I bet your dick is as hard as a rock.”

        “It actually is,” I confessed, unashamed.

        “Well, I’ll take care of it after this.” That came from Levi. I died a little more inside.

        “Too much information,” Jean barked.

        “Mad that I’m not going to take care of you afterwards?” Armin asked.

        Jean snorted, which carried through the earpiece rather well. “I’ll remind you of this when you try something tonight.”

        “No,” Armin whined. “I was kidding around, babe. Let me ride you.”

        Mikasa, sounding exasperated, said, “That’s enough from all of you. I don’t want to hear who’s going to ride who.”

        All of us responded with, “Yes, ma’am.”

        Feeling rebellious, I said, “Meet me in your dressing room after this.”

        “I was already planning to,” Levi told me.

        “Enough,” Mikasa roared, which caused us all to break into laughter. Still, I was going to be meeting with Levi after this, and that was enough to keep me quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will also be in Eren's POV, for obvious reasons. ;)
> 
> Next update will probably be late, because I've been feeling sick and out of it lately. So, just a heads up (I'm sorry). *throws self onto bed*
> 
> Thank you for reading! But most of all, thank you to those that comment. I don't think you realize how much comments keep me going! <3


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like I'm always starting off with an apology, but I am sorry for taking two weeks to update. Again. *throws self into the abyss*  
> Like I said in my last chapter notes, I've been rather sick. Thankfully I've been feeling better, so I'm aiming to get back on track with these updates. 
> 
> Anywho, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

_ Eren’s POV _

 

“I could watch you all night.”

        I watched a grin form on Levi’s face as my words reached him through the earpiece. He turned his back to the crowd after that and sunk down to his haunches in one slow movement, legs spread wide. Then he reached out and grabbed the bars on either side of him as he eased his way back up, rolling his hips in time with the music. When he turned around, giving me a perfect view of his face under the dim red lighting, my breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t get over how confident he looked. He had changed so much since I’d first met him in that diner months ago, but then again, so had I. He blew into my life and changed me for the better, and I was proud to say that I’d done the same to him.

        “I need to be inside of you right now,” I said in a tone that revealed just how desperate I was to feel him beneath me. I didn’t care that everyone with an earpiece in could hear me talking to him.

        “For the love of all that is holy, what do I have to do to shut you up?” Mikasa spouted, her voice sharp in my ear.

        I smiled. I’d been waiting for her to say something. “Bring the cages down.”

        “You are a pain in my ass, Eren Jaeger.”

        “Tell me something I don’t know,” I said.

        She sighed, knowing she had no hopes of winning this argument anytime soon. “Fine, I’ll bring them down. Consider this a small gift for you not being able to work as the head of security tonight.”

        “You and Armin both gifted me Levi for having to sit this one out.”

        “Because Levi is all you want,” Armin interjected.

        “True,” I said, unashamed.

        After the song that was playing came to an end, the cages were lowered to the stage. I plucked the earpiece out and threw it in the general direction of Jean, who looked so done with me as he scooped it up that I couldn’t help but laugh. He flipped me off and I pretended to catch it. I’d dealt with enough of his and Armin’s shit to last me a lifetime, so I didn’t feel bad for switching it around on him for once. Not that this was the first time that Levi and I had pulled something like this, but still, he could afford to have a taste of his own medicine from time to time.

        The second the cage was settled, the crowd murmuring in confusion about the sudden change of things, Levi threw open the metal door and stepped out. He hurried over to the edge of the stage and I held my arms up, more than ready to feel him against me. The way he looked in that outfit was making me impatient.

        “No,” he said, waving his hands to the side to indicate that he wanted me to put my arms down. “I don’t want to hurt your arm. I’ll get down myself.”

        “You have about two seconds to get your sexy ass over here.”

        “Your arm—”

        “Times up,” I said, lifting him up and throwing him over my shoulder in one fell swoop. I turned around, scanned the people in front of me, and pushed passed them without so much as an _excuse me._ I wasn’t in the mood to be polite when it was obvious that I wanted them out of the way. If they were going to stand around and gawk at me like I’d sprouted a third head, then they deserved to get shoved aside. I could tell by their surprised gasps that they hadn’t been expecting me to plow right through them, but they had no idea how worked up I was right now. Levi’s teasing had pushed me over the edge hours ago.

        I snaked my way through the mass of people on the dance floor until I reached the door that led to the dressing rooms. I yanked it open and didn’t even manage to take two steps inside before I had Levi pressed up against the nearest wall. We looked at each other for a fleeting moment, and then our lips came together, tongues seeking and tasting like this was the first time. He locked his legs around my waist and started grinding himself against me, sharp little pants rushing out of him. The sound of them sent heat racing across my skin, erasing any self-control I’d managed to hold onto. I needed him so much it was almost painful.

        With a firm hold on his ass, I carried him down the hall toward his dressing room, groaning when he slipped his hand into my jeans. He cupped me in his palm and rolled his hand several times, swallowing down any sounds I made with his own. It amazed me that I was able to concentrate long enough to open the door to his room, but when I finally managed it, I stumbled inside. I made it as far as the vanity table before I pushed him down onto the polished wood, needing to touch him in any way that I could.

        “Do you think I’ve punished you enough?” Levi asked as he curled one of his legs around my waist, the heel of his boot digging into the curve of my back. I hissed in a breath through my teeth, the small dab of pain making my cock throb all the harder. “I was almost late for my first performance, after all.”

        I could not even think about him dragging this out any longer. “You’ve punished me enough.”

        “Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Had enough already?” Instead of waiting for a reply, he ran his hands down his stomach until he reached the waistband of his leather shorts. He unfastened the button, tugged the zipper down, and looked at me as he said, “Undress me.”

        He didn’t have to tell me twice. I bent down and bit his bottom lip, tongue pushing its way into his mouth in search of the taste I could never get enough of. My hands busied themselves with the task of sliding his shorts down his legs. Once they were passed his boots, I tossed them over my shoulder without much thought. They landed somewhere on the floor behind me, but I couldn’t linger on that for longer than a second. Not when I looked down to see that Levi hadn’t bothered to put on any underwear. I ran my palms over the creamy skin of his inner thighs, a tortured groan escaping me.

        With a smirk on his face, he rolled his hips up in open invitation. “I still have my vest on, Mr. Jaeger. Going to fix that?”

        “God, Levi, you drive me crazy.”

        “So you’ve said from the start.”

        “It was true then, and it’s true now,” I said as I undid the buttons of his vest. I pushed the fabric apart once I unhooked the last button and he slid his arms out. The sight of him lying back on the vanity table in nothing but his black stockings and leather boots was enough to make me falter for a handful of minutes. He was something else entirely.

        While I stood there admiring the view, Levi turned around onto his front and lifted his hips up as he spread his legs as far as the table would allow. Glancing at me over his shoulder, he said, “Then keep your word and fuck me in these boots.”

        In response, I hurriedly pulled open the top drawer of the vanity table and grabbed the bottle of lube we kept stashed in here for such occasions. His eyes remained on me as I unscrewed the cap and poured a hefty amount into the palm of my hand. I rubbed my fingers together to warm the liquid before I pressed them to his entrance. I was going to take my time working him open, but he had plans of his own, because with a push of his hips, my finger slipped inside him.

        “Don’t be gentle,” he said, voice ragged as he continued to push back onto my finger. He was so hot, so tight.

        Understanding what he wanted, I started pumping my finger, watching him swivel his hips back to take more of me in. The desperate sounds he was making told me he was already getting impatient, so I slipped another finger inside, rewarded with him moaning my name. I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back for much longer with how things were going. I was already palming my erection with my free hand, my need to be inside him growing with each passing second. No matter how many times I had him, I always wanted more. I didn’t think I would ever get enough.

        We must’ve been on the same page, because Levi turned his head to gaze at me over his shoulder and said in a low voice that sent a jolt through my body, “Eren, need you inside me.” As if that weren’t enough, he reached back and spread his cheeks with his fingers, opening himself up for me.

        Fuck.

        I slid my fingers out, all too eager to comply, and fumbled with the button of my jeans in my hurry. When I tugged the zipper down, I took myself in hand and guided the tip of my cock to his entrance. Without warning, he eased his hips back just like before, not stopping until I was buried deep inside him. I put my hands on his hips to still him for a moment, my cock throbbing hard.

        “Shit,” I breathed, running my hands up along his back. “You feel so good.”

        “Don’t stop,” Levi said.

        I drove my hips forward, setting a rhythm that had us both moaning. He clung onto the edge of the table and pushed back against me with each thrust, grinding his hips in circles until he was a shuddering mess. I wasn’t capable of being gentle after that. I pulled him back onto me as I thrust harder, faster, but he didn’t seem to mind. He was writhing beneath me, crying out my name in a way that made it impossible to slow down, our thighs slapping together.

        As he began to stroke himself, strained moan after moan wrenched out of him, I slid my hands under his sweat-slicked chest and eased him back onto his knees. He turned his head and crushed his lips to mine, grabbing a fistful of my hair to keep me at the angle he wanted me in. I let him mark every inch of my mouth with his tongue.

        He suddenly broke away with a gasp, crying out, “Right there!”

        “Going to come for me?”

        As if given permission by what I’d said, he came, pelvis bucking up with his release. I followed straight after, hips stuttering as I rode out my orgasm until we both sagged in exhaustion.

        “Fuck, I can’t move,” I said, body still shaking.

        Levi chuckled breathlessly. He gave my thigh a soft pat. “Come on, baby, work those legs and carry me to the couch.”

        I wrapped my arm around him and awkwardly shuffled over to the couch, collapsing back onto it with no finesse. After a while of sitting there to regain my breath, I said, “I kind of feel like an ass.”

        “Why?” He turned around and straddled my hips, resting his head on my shoulder.

        “Because tonight was your big night and I made you come down early.”

        He kissed my collarbone. “You didn’t make me do anything, Eren. I could’ve told Mikasa that I wanted to stay up in the cage, but I didn’t. If you didn’t notice, I was out of it in the blink of an eye.”

        “I did notice,” I said with a smile.

        “Then don’t feel bad.”

        When he relaxed against me, I was overwhelmed with how far along we’d come in such a short amount of time. Aside from Armin and Mikasa, I had never been this comfortable with anyone. I didn’t think it was possible to feel this way for someone, which brought me to the realization that I wanted to keep moving forward with him. I wanted to move on to the next step in our relationship, but I was also afraid to scare him off. There would always be a part of me that feared he would one day wake up and realize he was far too good for me. That he deserved better, but he had chosen me, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to make him regret that.

        “I’ve been thinking about something a lot lately,” I said, my voice trembling. I cleared my throat.

        “Mm, about what?”

        I swallowed, but the lump that had formed in my throat wouldn’t give. “You know how I gave you a key to my apartment?” He lifted his head to look at me and nodded. “Well, how about we make it a key to your place?”

        To my immense relief, he smiled. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

        “Only if you want to.”

        “Of course I want to,” he said, staring up at me shyly as a dusting of pink spread across his cheeks. “Do you really want me to move in?”

        “I really do.”

        “Ugh.” Levi put his hands over his face. “My heart is beating so fast right now.”

        I grabbed one of his hands and lifted it to my chest. He peeked at me through splayed fingers. “Mine is too.”

        We were interrupted when the door to his dressing room swung open and Reiner strolled in like he had every right to be in here. Levi, who was still undressed, squeaked and rolled off me to go hide by the side of the couch.

        “My bad,” Reiner said, but he made no attempt to leave. He grinned at me and I clenched my teeth while I zipped myself up. I wanted to wipe that grin off his face with a few punches. Who the fuck just walked into someone’s dressing room without knocking first?

        “Say the word, Levi, and I’ll knock him out cold.”

        Levi’s head popped up over the arm of the couch. “As tempting as that sounds, I don’t want you to hurt your arm, so no.” He fixed Reiner with a glare. “Don’t you know how to knock, you uncultured animal?”

        “I would’ve missed the view if I’d done that.”

        “You bastard,” I said, standing up. I grabbed Reiner by the front of his shirt and pulled him up, but that infuriating grin never faltered. “You make one more pass at him and I’m going to hurt you.”

        The grin widened until it was a sinister smile. “What if he wants me to make a pass at him?”

        “In your dreams,” Levi blurted out.

        “Can someone explain to me what in the hell is going on in here?” Jean asked as he joined us.

        I looked at him and jerked my chin towards the leather shorts that were still on the floor. “Give those to Levi for me.”

        Jean must have put two and two together, because he said, “You really want to get your ass beat, don’t you Reiner?”

        “It was an honest mistake,” Reiner offered, but I could tell by his mocking tone that he was lying. Since the night Levi refereed at the warehouse, he had been interested in him in more ways than one, and I didn’t like it one bit. Even when Mikasa assured me that he wouldn’t try anything while he was on the clock, I didn’t trust him. The way he looked at Levi made my skin crawl.

        “If you ever touch him against his will,” I warned, “I’ll kill you.”

        “All right. That’s enough.” Jean stepped between us, forcing me to release the fabric caught in the palm of my hand. He pointed to the door. “Reiner, get the fuck out if you know what’s good for you.”

        Reiner stepped back, but just as he went to turn around, he said, “See you around, Levi.”

        Too angry to remain still, I tried to punch him, but Jean slammed his arm against my chest before I could raise my arm higher than my waist. I shot him a look and hoped it would show just how furious I was, but he kept his arm in place until Reiner was out of the room.

        “He’s not worth it, Eren. If he keeps this up, then I’m telling Mikasa to fire him. I won’t see you getting hurt because of the shit he’s pulling.”

        “Jean’s right,” Levi said, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. “That idiot isn’t worth it.”

        I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself. It didn’t work too well. Just the thought of Reiner made me want to punch a hole in the wall. “I swear if he tries anything with Levi, I won’t hold back.”

        “He won’t try anything.” Jean put his hands on my shoulders, keeping me rooted to the spot I was in. He knew how hard it was for me to not go after Reiner. There was unfinished business between us. “I’m always making sure of that. Whenever you’re busy, I’m keeping an eye out for Levi. I know you do the same for me with Armin.”

        “Always,” I said.

        “That’s why we’re friends. Now calm the hell down already. The reason that brainless ape came here in the first place was to tell Levi that Mikasa wants him back up in the cage. It’s still his big night, so don’t go ruining it by getting carried away. I’m telling you right now, if Reiner tries anything else tonight, I’ll fuck him up myself.”

        “I won’t ruin this for Levi,” I said, more to myself than to him. “I’m good.”

        Jean patted my shoulder. “Good. Now I’ll leave so Levi can get the rest of his clothes back on. You obviously didn’t take it easy on him.”

        “Fuck you.” I shoved him toward the door with a laugh. “Get out of here before I whoop your ass.”

        “I’d like to see you try.”

        When Jean left the room, I noticed that Levi was buttoning up his vest with a small pout on his lips. He was also grumbling something under his breath that I couldn’t quite make out. I eyed him, taking note of his rigid posture, but he didn’t lift his gaze to meet mine.

        “What’s wrong, babe?” I asked.

        “Reiner ruined our moment. I don’t know why he can’t take a hint. I’m never going to want him. Just thinking about his hands on me makes me feel sick to my stomach.”

        “Well, let’s not let him ruin the rest of our night.” I slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper I’d put in there earlier today. I held it out to him, a bit nervous. I hadn’t planned on giving this to him right away.

        “What’s this?”

        “Open it up,” I said.

        He unfolded it and scanned the paper over. His eyes shot up to mine a few seconds later, a smile lighting up his face. “A change of address form?”

        “I couldn’t stop myself. The thought of you living with me got me excited.”

        He came up to me and threw his arms around my neck. “My hideous recliner chair is going to look so good in your living room.”

        “I actually really like that recliner. It’s comfortable.”

        “Oh my god!” he shouted all of a sudden, leaning back to look me in the eye. “Let’s get a cat! Eren, we’re getting a cat.”

        “Okay, we’ll get a cat.”

        “Really?”

        I took his face into my hands and kissed him. “Really. Now get your bunny ears back on. Mikasa’s waiting.”

 

\---

 

I watched Isabel put the final touches on a vanilla cake I’d purchased earlier at a vegan bakery that was far too expensive, but nothing was too good for Levi (at least not in my book). We were stuffed in the backroom behind the bar, trying to get everything finished for his surprise after party before the club closed in half an hour. We didn’t have a lot of time to work with, but I couldn’t resist adding a small message onto his cake at the last second. Luckily for me, Isabel arrived in time to do this for me, because my handwriting was shit.

        “How does it look?” Isabel asked, setting aside the decorating gel.

        I leaned over her to get a good look at the cake. I smiled. “It’s perfect.”

        “I think it would’ve meant more to him if you wrote it.”

        “It would have been illegible if I wrote it.”

        She laughed and I knew that we were on our way to being okay. “You’re good for him, you know? I thought you were going to break his heart, but you’ve done nothing but make him happy.” She took my hand. “I know how you feel about Farlan, but I want to tell you that you’re wrong. He’s not good for Levi, so don’t even think that. When they were together in high school, Levi was so unhappy. He hated that Farlan was always trying to change him into something that he wasn’t.”

        “I’ve changed him,” I said.

        “No.” She squeezed my hand. “You gave him the confidence to change himself. He’s happy, Eren. He loves you, and from what I can see, you love him too.”

        “I do love him.”

        “Then don’t let your self-doubt come between the two of you. You’re good enough for him. Don’t think any differently.”

        “How did you know I needed to hear this?”

        “Because I’m your sister. Duh.”

        I hugged her. “Thanks for coming, Iz.”

        “‘Course. Did you think I would miss this? Levi looked incredible up on stage.”

        I pulled back in a hurry. “You weren’t supposed to be here for that.”

        “He couldn’t keep me away even if he tried,” she said. “I know he feels like I don’t approve of him doing this, but if being a cage dancer makes him happy, then I’ll support him. Plus, like I said, he looked incredible.”

        “He did.”

        “Then you whisked him off...” She elbowed me playfully. “You’re so bad, Eren.”

        “Don’t blame me! You saw how he looked out there.”

        The door behind us opened and I almost expected it to be Reiner again, but it was Armin. He was holding a blindfold and some rope. “We’re ready for act one.”

        Isabel eyes flicked to the rope. “Are you going to be tying Levi up?”

        “Oh, yes,” Armin said, wiggling his eyebrows. “I’ve mastered quite a few bondage techniques, and I’m going to be using some on him tonight.”

        She put her hand on my shoulder. “Lights. Camera…”

        “Action,” I finished.


	22. Chapter 22

Considering I got through my performance without making any mistakes, I deemed my first night on the job a success. I even managed to snag some alone time with Eren in the middle of it all, although the thought of Reiner barging into my dressing room unannounced still dampened my mood. His behavior was starting to scare me. I went out of my way to avoid him, yet more often than not, he ended up working the same days as me. It was disturbing how he could manipulate Thomas into switching shifts with him. If that kept happening, he would be the one escorting me to and from the cage. I didn’t want to think about being alone with him, even for a short period of time. I would have to discuss this with Mikasa soon if I wanted to avoid trouble, which I did.

        These thoughts were running through my mind as Jean led me back to my dressing room after the last set in the cage. The club would be closing in twenty minutes, so I needed to change out of my outfit before heading home for the night. Home. I smiled, because soon enough my home would be Eren’s apartment. It would become _ours._ The place we would go to at the end of the night. I couldn’t wait to move in with him and take our relationship a step further. Everything about this felt right.

        “You did a good job out there tonight,” Jean said as we reached my dressing room.

        “Thank you. I have an excellent teacher. You might have heard of him.”

        He grinned. “Armin’s proud of you. I think everyone here is. Some people thought that you wouldn’t fit into the club scene, but you proved them wrong, and Eren was more than happy to rub that in their faces after your performance. Trust me on that. He hasn’t shut up the entire night. It’s starting to get on my nerves.”

        “I bet it is,” I said, chuckling. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think I would fit into the club scene, either. I’ve come a long way, and I have everyone here to thank. You guys took me in, no questions asked. I was a bit surprised by that.”

        “Well, Eren did threaten our lives if we spoke against you in any way.” He laughed while he patted me on the shoulder. “In all seriousness, you fit into this close-knit family rather well. I was just as shocked about that as you were, because Eren never really took any of his previous relationships seriously, but it’s been different with you from the start. It took us all by surprise.”

        I pushed open the door. “Aiming to make me emotional, Jean?”

        “No. Hey, hold on a minute.” He put his hand on my arm as he stepped around me. He went into the room to check it out. “Okay. Just wanted to make sure no one was in here. Remember to lock the door next time. After what happened today, you can’t be too careful.”

        “I know.”

        “All right. I’m going to get Armin now. Lock the door behind you. I don’t trust Reiner, and if he tries anything else tonight, I won’t be able to hold Eren back for a second time.”

        “I’ll lock it. Don’t worry,” I said.

        I stepped inside the room, shut the door behind me, and turned the lock on the knob. Jean was right about Reiner. I couldn’t be too careful after everything that happened earlier. If he was willing to invade my privacy with Eren right here in the same room as me, what was he capable of doing when I was alone? I shuddered at the images that thought concocted. I never wanted to find out how far he could take things, which meant I couldn’t put off talking to Mikasa about this. Once I changed, I would head up to her office. The sooner I spoke to her about my concerns, the better.

        While I padded over to the couch, I slid the bunny ears headband off and placed it on the vanity table. I smiled as I stared down at the stuff littering the floor. Eren had knocked aside all the items on the table when he pushed me down onto it. The mess we’d created in our rush didn’t bother me in the least. I loved that we could get so wrapped up in each other that we forgot about everything else. When I was with him, the world dropped away. It was just the two of us.

        I scooped up most of the stuff in one go and started rearranging everything on the table. It was then that someone knocked on the door. I froze in place, listening, but I couldn’t hear a thing over the frantic beating of my heart. If it turned out to be Reiner, I wouldn’t hesitate to call both Jean and Ymir down here. I wouldn’t take any chances with him.

        “Who is it?” I called.

        “It’s me,” Armin said. “Let my sugary ass in.”

        I sighed in relief and dumped the rest of the stuff onto the table before I went to go open the door. Armin immediately leaned up against the doorframe and smirked while he twirled a black blindfold around his finger. I eyed it, suspicious about why he brought it along with him. He never carried anything he wasn’t planning on using in the immediate future, but I couldn’t figure out who he would use that on.

        “What’s that for?” I asked.

        “The night isn’t over just yet. Come with me.”

        “Am I going to regret this?”

        “You’ll find out soon enough.” He took me by the hand and tugged me out of the room. “Let’s go. Oh, and lock up. I heard what Reiner did earlier and I will not have him ruining this night for you. That creep is going to get reported to Mikasa by yours truly.”

        I wiggled my hand into the tight confines of the front pocket of my leather shorts and grabbed onto the small key. I pulled it out to lock the door with it. “I’m going to be talking to her about him, too.”

        “Serves the bastard right.”

        Armin ushered me down the corridor and pulled the door open at the end. We barely made it out onto the dancefloor when I heard a group of people shout, “Congratulations on your first night, Levi!” Several pops followed. Then a cascade of a multicolored confetti showered down on me. My eyes widened in surprise, and I peered through the flecks of color to spot Eren standing amongst Mikasa, Jean, Isabel, Marco, Thomas, Ymir, and Krista. They were all holding a present of some sort, but the happiness I felt upon seeing them faded when I noticed that Reiner was standing behind Ymir. He smiled in a crude way when our eyes met, but I didn’t react. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

        “Thank you, everyone,” I said.

        “Here. Open my present first.” Mikasa came up to me and handed over the gift she held. I took it from her and tore open the blue wrapping paper. It was a pair of lacy crotch-less panties. I blushed to the tips of my ears. “Enjoy that with Eren later.” She winked, and I heard Izzy holler in approval when she saw what all the fuss was about.

        “Th-thank you,” I stuttered out.

        Eren joined us and got an eyeful of the panties before he said, “Mikasa, really?”

        “Don’t act like you’re not going to enjoy seeing him in those.”

        “Don’t get me off track,” Eren said. He held out his gift. “Mine next.”

        After Mikasa took her present off my hands, I opened up Eren’s. My eyes snapped up to his when I saw what it was. “Eren….” I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him close to me. “This is perfect. I can’t believe that you got this for me. Thank you.” It was a first edition of my favorite book _Chasing Summer_. I’d mentioned it to him before, but thought he wouldn’t remember the title. He proved me wrong.

        Crap. I was getting emotional.

        “So you like it?” he asked.

        “Yes. I love it!”

        “Coming through,” Armin said. I leaned back and saw that he was holding out a gift bag of his own. He gave it a few shakes. “Go on. Open it.”

        I took the bag from him and looked inside, not surprised to see that it was something embarrassing. He’d given me a silver egg vibrator, complete with detachable controller. “Please don’t make me take this out in front of everyone.”

        “You don’t have to.” To prove that to me, he closed the bag. “But you better use it _._ ”

        “Use what?” Eren asked, peeking into the bag. He rolled his eyes once he saw what we were talking about. “Did anyone get him a normal gift?”

        “I did!” Krista exclaimed as she rushed up to us.

        One by one, I opened up everyone’s gifts. A lot of them weren’t what Eren would consider “normal presents,” but I didn’t mind whatsoever. Not when I had a lot of new things he could test out on me. Plus, every so often I would find him looking at one of them with a dreamy expression on his face, so I knew he was thinking the same thing. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t even falter when Reiner handed me an unwrapped box. It was only when Eren’s grip tightened on my shoulder that I focused on what I was holding. It hardly weighed anything.

        “You can open that on your own time,” Reiner said in a low voice. I didn’t like the way that sounded. Why couldn’t I open it in front of everyone? What had he given me?

        Eren made an odd noise in the back of his throat, which caught Mikasa’s attention right away. Her eyes flicked from him to Reiner as a look of understanding crossed her features. In one second flat, the box was out of my hand and in hers. She set is aside and said, “Who’s up for some cake?”

        I took Eren’s hand in mine, relieved that she provided me with an excuse to get him away from Reiner. “I can go for some cake,” I said, interlacing our fingers so I could lead him in the opposite direction. If Reiner kept this up, Eren would confront him by the end of the night. I had no doubts about that, but I wanted to prevent that from happening, because his arm was still in the process of healing. If he fought someone tonight, he could cause himself further injury. All I could hope for was that Mikasa sent Reiner home early. With how she was looking at him that didn’t seem too far-fetched.

        When I stopped in front of the table that’d been set up near the stage, Izzy nudged my arm with her elbow. “What’s going on there?” she asked.

        “That Reiner guy is an absolute dick,” I told her, angry with how things were turning out. “He doesn’t get the hint that I’m not interested in him.”

        Her eyes instantly shot up to Eren’s. She put her hand on his shoulder, which seemed to ground him some. “Stay calm, okay? Wouldn’t want to make a scene on your boyfriend’s big night.”

        “I’m trying to stay calm. If it were up to me, he would already be knocked out.”

        “Cake time!” Armin boomed as he joined us, but there was an edge to his voice that told me he was fully aware of the tension between Eren and Reiner. “Why don’t you do the honors of cutting the first piece, Levi?”

        I grabbed the cake cutter he offered me and was about to jab it into the cake without thought when I saw that someone had written something on it. I leaned in close to read the message.

 

_Thank you for seeing past the mask and still loving what you saw behind it. I love you._

_\- Eren_

        The anger I felt seconds ago evaporated as I reread the message for the second time. I placed the cake cutter down on the table and turned around to wrap my arms around Eren’s neck, using my hold on him to pull him down to my height. He held me against him and the familiar scent of his shampoo washed over me. Right then I decided that I wasn’t going to let anything ruin this night for me. I worked hard for months to be in this position, so I was done letting someone rain on my parade. Especially when that someone made me uncomfortable in every way imaginable.

        “This is my party, right?” I asked as I buried my face against his neck.

        “Yes. I threw it for you.” The hint of sadness in his voice strengthened my resolve.

        I leaned back and scanned the people around me until my eyes landed on Mikasa. “Hey, send Reiner home for me. He’s caused enough trouble tonight.”

        Armin snapped his fingers together to punctuate what I said, but Izzy reached out and put her hand on Eren’s arm, ready to stop him if Reiner should say anything to provoke him. I could see how worried she was by the look in her eyes. That’s all it took to remind me that all the pain she’d caused him throughout the years still haunted her. She wanted to keep him from getting hurt again, and I knew that she wasn’t the only one here who felt that way. I was making the right decision by asking Mikasa to send Reiner home for the night.

        “No need to escort me to the door,” Reiner said with a laugh when Jean approached him with the intent of getting him out of here. He held his hands up like he was at gunpoint, but his laughter cut off in an unnatural way. “If Levi wants me to leave, then I’ll leave.” Although his words were light in tone, there was something dark and foreboding in his expression that caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. He wasn’t to be trusted. Of that much I was sure of.

        No one said a word as he stalked toward the double doors. It was only after he disappeared behind them that the tension in the air began to subside, but the knot in my stomach didn’t loosen, because this wouldn’t end here tonight. There was unfinished business between him and Eren, and one day it would result in something nasty.

        “Well, now that he’s gone,” Armin began in a cheery voice, no doubt trying to lighten the mood, “let’s pick up where we left off.”

        I didn’t want this night to be spoiled after Eren went out of his way to arrange it for me, so I picked up the cake cutter and carefully cut around the message on the cake. I put it on the paper plate Izzy held out and said, “That’s my piece.” I smiled at Eren, who visibly relaxed.

        “Is this vegan cake?” Jean asked when he received a slice of his own.

        Eren glared at him. “What kind of question is that? Yes, it’s vegan. Do you know who this party is for?”

        Jean rolled his eyes. “Calm your man tits. I was just asking. No need to kill me with your eyes.”

        “Then don’t ask stupid questions,” Eren said with a snort.

        “Damn. You’re sensitive when it comes to Levi.”

        “You knew that already, so don’t test me.”

        Once I cut enough slices for everyone, and Mikasa handed them out, I went to go sit down on the stage with Eren. He boosted me up and then took the empty spot beside me. I picked up my fork and leaned my head on his shoulder as we both ate our cake. I was happy in spite of everything that happened with Reiner. I hadn’t been expecting a surprise party for my first night on the job, but Eren thought of everything.

        “Hey,” I said and waited until he looked at me to add, “thank you for doing this for me.”

        “You’ve worked hard. You deserve this.”

        There was a smudge of frosting on the corner of his mouth. I leaned in and kissed the spot several times. “I love you.”

        He laughed and turned his head a bit so that I was kissing his lips. “I love you too, which is why I asked you to move in with me. I can’t sleep without you anymore. Take responsibility.”

        “I will, but what if I start snoring? Or hogging all the blankets? Will you still want me around?”

        “I own more than one blanket, Levi, and I also have ear plugs.” His voice dropped to a serious tone when he said, “There’s nothing you can do to make me want you any less.”

        I kept on forgetting how unpredictable life was. No matter how much we planned for the future, we never ended up where we thought we’d be. Something, or someone, caused us to change courses along the way, which led us in an entirely different direction than we were heading before. For me, that person was Eren. When I saw him in that diner, a man that looked capable of anything, I thought he’d forget all about me after that first night. I believed we would go our separate ways, and continue to live our lives the way we had been before meeting each other, but we got tangled up in one another since that first moment. Now we were here, together, and I couldn’t be happier.

        “Levi, are you crying?” Eren asked.

        “Yes,” I sobbed, setting my plate down before I ended up dropping it. There was no point in denying it.

        “Why? What’s wrong?” He gathered my face up in his hands to look at me straight on. He looked so concerned that it was a bit funny. “Is it Reiner? Do I have to kill him?”

        I laughed. It sounded shaky. “No. These are happy tears. I’m happy.”

        “Happy?” His eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

        “Mhm,” I said. “I’m thinking about us and how we met. I’m so glad that we did. My life has been so fulfilling because of you.”

        A few seconds passed, with him staring at me in disbelief, and then he kissed me. The slightest of blushes was coloring his cheeks. “You just gave me butterflies and I don’t appreciate it. I’m supposed to be a tough guy, remember?”

        “Obviously tough guys can get butterflies.”

        Someone cleared their throat and we broke apart. Isabel was standing in front of the stage. When she saw that she had our attention, she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Armin is asking for you, Eren.”

        “I wonder what he wants now,” he said, dropping his hands from my face. “I’ll be right back.” He hopped off the stage and Izzy took his place. She hung her legs over the side and gripped the edge with both hands as she swung them from side to side. She looked at ease here in the club, which was something I never thought I’d see, but I was glad for it. Since the moment I accepted the job as a cage dancer, I hoped that she would accept this part of me.

        We sat there in comfortable silence for all of three seconds. Then she said, “I watched you dance.”

        The fork I’d picked back up fell out of my hand and onto the plate in my lap. “What?”

        “Oh, stop it. I wanted to see what you can do, and I have to say that you blew me away from the moment you stepped onto the stage. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. You were amazing.” She put her hand over mine, giving it a quick squeeze. “I’m so proud of you. Don’t ever think that I’m not.”

        The tears that were beginning to taper off started anew. I leaned to the side and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you. It means a lot to me that you’re okay with me doing this.”

        “Of course I am. It makes you happy,” she said. Her arms tightened around me. “I honestly couldn’t have asked for someone better for my brother. He adores you, Levi. And you’ve helped him through so much. I’m glad you didn’t listen to me and just went for it with him. You guys are perfect for each other.”

        “I’m glad I just went for it too.”

        She leaned back. “I know you are. It’s a little too obvious how much you love him.”

        “I love him a lot, so I’m not surprised that it shows.”

        “That’s a good thing too, because I think Armin is up to something with your boy. Look.” She pointed toward the table. Armin had blindfolded Eren and was now in the process of tearing open his shirt. He was way too good at. Really, how many shirts had he ripped open in his lifetime? He had it down to a T.

        “Why does this not surprise me?” I said.

        Izzy smiled. “Because it’s Armin.”

        We both watched as Eren laid back onto the table just to have his hands lifted above his head the second he was flat on his back. Armin tied his wrists together with some rope. While he was occupied with that, Mikasa started placing a line of green Jell-O shots along Eren’s bare stomach. I guessed that they were planning to have me eat those off of him. At least I hoped that was their plan, because if anyone else decided to eat them off him, I would have a few choice words to throw their way.

        “Levi!” Armin called, waving me over.  

        “Let the fun begin,” Isabel said as I scooted off the stage.

        I walked over to the table expecting to eat some Jell-O shots off a set of abs that made my mouth water, but I was caught off guard when Armin snatched me by the wrists. He brought them together faster than I could react, and gave me no time to ask him what he was doing before he looped some rope around my neck. There was still a lot left to work with, and I had no doubt that he was going to use every last inch.

        “Cross your wrists and lace your fingers together,” he directed.

        “Huh?”

        “Just do it, or _I’ll_ eat those Jell-O shots.”

        “Hell no you won’t,” I said, crossing my wrists and lacing my fingers.

        Armin rolled his eyes. “You’re so predictable.”

        I stood still and let him tie me up. He was halfway up my arms when I asked, “Is this bondage?”

        “Is there any other way to tie someone up?”

        “How would I know? But why are you tying me up?”

        He smirked. “I thought you’d never ask. After you eat those Jell-O shots, I plan on making Eren give you a personal lap dance, but you aren’t allowed to touch him.” He tugged on the rope, tightening it. “Which is why I’m tying your sexy ass up.”

        “Lap dance?” I looked at Eren, who was grinning. “Why can’t I touch him?”

        “Honey, please. He wouldn’t even get halfway through it before you jumped him.”

        That was true, but I still pouted. “You’re cruel, but I love you for making him dance for me. I didn’t think I’d see that.”

        “You shouldn’t be seeing it,” Eren pointed out. “I suck at dancing. Armin practically threatened my life.”

        I mouthed, “Thank you for threatening his life.”

        Armin mouthed back, “You’re welcome.” Then he announced, “I’m done! Go eat those Jell-O shots.”

        “With pleasure,” I said. I padded up to the table. Seeing as I could only use my mouth, I bent down and ran my tongue down the center of his chest.

        “No fair,” he grumbled.

        “Stop whining. I’m enjoying myself.” I sucked up a shot and kissed a trail to another one. When I ate all three, I asked, “Lap dance time?”

        “Lap dance time,” Armin confirmed with a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find it quite funny that a lot of you follow me on Instagram and comment on here that you like my doujin reviews. I behave so wild in those that I can't help but laugh thinking about you guys reading my fics and knowing that that crazed woman wrote it. Lmao. 
> 
> But a while back I drew Levi in the bondage I described in this chapter, you can view it here: [](http://tinypic.com?ref=ezn251)  
> This won't be the last time Levi's tied up, by the way. C'mon, I have to use it in a more provocative way. 
> 
> P.S. I'm sorry this came off as a cliffhanger, but at least look forward to Eren's dance. Yes? *flees*
> 
> P.S.S. I mentioned Chasing Summer (my previous fic) in this because I love that story a lot, okay? Don't judge me. xD


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, let me start this off by linking you to the dance I pictured Eren giving Levi. You can view it [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hlIuHYhj1c)  
> You can watch the whole thing (it's worth it), but the dance Eren gives Levi doesn't start till 0:57. I kid you not, I died imagining Eren doing that dance. I mean, let's not lie here. It would be a magnificent sight. I'd pay top dollar $$$ xD
> 
> Anywho, before my thirst for Eren shows anymore, go on and read! :D

The Jell-O shots I’d eaten were starting to take effect as Eren led me out onto the dance floor. I leaned into him with a grin on my face, searching for a kiss, but somehow I managed to lose my footing before our lips could meet. I would have stumbled to the side if he hadn’t put his hands on my shoulders to steady me. Still, thanks to the high heel boots I was wearing, it took a moment too long to regain my balance. They increased my clumsiness tenfold. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by him.

        “Feeling tipsy?” he asked in a voice that was far too seductive, guiding me down onto the chair to make sure I didn’t topple over. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and drag him down with me, but I was still tied in the elaborate bondage Armin whipped up with nothing more than a few feet of rope. He must’ve foreseen this happening. I was a clingy drunk, and if my hands were free to do as they pleased right now, they definitely wouldn’t be resting in my lap. They would be roaming over the soft ridges of Eren’s abs, mapping out the sharp curves of his hips.   

        “Just a smidge,” I admitted, outright ogling his torso.

        “Still want a lap dance from yours truly?” The way he smiled after asking that question told me he knew I still wanted a lap dance from him. He was being a tease and I didn’t mind whatsoever. How could I when he smiled at me that way?

        “I wouldn’t pass up a lap dance from you even if I were on the brink of death.”

        He laughed. “You would pass it up, if you knew how awful I danced.”

        “Not even then,” I told him, tilting my head back at an angle that gave me a perfect view of his face. “Now go and put on a show for me.”

        “Yes, sir. Anything else I can do for you?”       

        “Kiss me before you go.”

        “So demanding,” he said as he bent down to appease me. “Not that I mind.” He pressed his lips to mine, giving me a quick kiss that did not meet my expectations. I must’ve made a face, because he was quick to add, “Don’t give me that look. I’m about to embarrass myself in front of everyone for you. Unless you’d prefer a kiss over a dance, then I’ll be more than happy to call this whole thing off.”

        I shook my head. “Nope. I’ll behave myself.”

        “That’s what I thought.”

        Armin clapped several times to nab our attention from where he stood on the stage. He waggled his fingers at Eren. “I’m putting the music on soon, so get ready to shake your ass.”

        “Here we go.” Eren kissed me one more time before he leaned back and slipped out of his ruined shirt. He tossed it to the side without looking at where it landed. Since I didn’t have the use of my hands to clap, I whistled, admiring his back muscles as he raised his arms above his head. The jeans he was wearing were snug in all the perfect places. It held my attention nicely. Not that he needed tight clothing for me to notice him. He could dance in a pair of sweats and my gaze would be glued on him from start to finish.

        I couldn’t wait to see what he could do. Even if he claimed that he sucked at dancing, someone who was taught by Armin couldn’t possibly be that bad. He wouldn’t allow it. He was a strict teacher that didn’t settle for mediocre. I could say that from personal experience and countless training sessions that left my thighs quaking until I was on the verge of falling over. So I had a feeling that Eren wasn’t as bad as he led me to believe. But even if it turned out that he was born with two left feet, I wouldn’t care. This was just for fun.

        When the lights dimmed to a sensual blue, both Izzy and Mikasa started catcalling to Eren, who turned his head just to roll his eyes at them. They raised their voices in response, whistling and shouting loud enough to be heard around the dance floor. They were determined to egg him on, but he wasn’t taking the bait.

        “Shake your ass in his face!” Izzy yelled, which made me whip around to look at her. She winked.

        “And that’s my cue to get a drink,” Jean said.

        Mikasa focused her gaze on him. “Don’t be a sourpuss.”

        He waved her off as he sauntered over to the bar. “I need a good amount of alcohol in me to get through this one.”

        She looked like she was about to say something else to him, but then the music started up, a slow beat that immediately gave way to lyrics. I quickly spun around in the seat to look at Eren. He was facing me now, eyes hooded and dark in the faint lighting. My heart hammered in my chest as he started walking toward me, every step certain as his feet carried him closer to me. I waited for him to start dancing, but when he stopped in front of me, he grabbed either side of the chair and tilted it back until it was flat on the floor. I stared up at him, surprised, but he was already moving away.

        When he crawled around to the front of the chair, where my head lay, I bit down on my bottom lip in anticipation.

        He lifted himself up onto his knees, grabbed the front of the chair and pulled it forward at the same time as he rolled his hips in one fluid motion, putting his crotch directly over my face. Somewhere in the distance, Isabel squealed. All I could do was gape at him, caught off guard, but enjoying every second of it.

        _I can fuck you all the time._

I barely had time to register the lyrics when I felt his hands slide under my ass, fingers curling in until he was gripping me hard enough to pull a moan out of me. He lifted me out of the chair with ease, and since my arms were tied, I had no way to brace myself now that I was hanging upside down. But I didn’t care about my current position, because I could feel his hot breath through the thin material of my leather shorts, and inches away from my mouth was his jean-cladded dick. Fuck me. I didn’t expect this kind of lap dance.

        I sure wasn’t complaining, though. This was perfect.

        “God,” I breathed, turned on despite the people watching us.

        I heard Eren chuckle as he spun me around. No sooner than my feet were on the ground did he turn me to face away from him. Then he put his hand between my shoulder blades and eased me forward until my palms were flat on the floor. He grabbed me by the waist and started swiveling his hips from left to right, grinding himself against me.

        Oh, wow. It was a miracle that my legs were still holding me up.

He pumped his hips in time with the beat of the song, turning me into a panting mess, and then abandoned his spot to walk in front of me. When he slid his hand beneath my shoulder, I let him guide me into a straightened position, but he kept going beyond that point, lowering me onto the floor. As soon as I was lying flat on my back, he ran his hand down the center of my stomach, fingers dropping lower until he was cupping my erection. He smirked when I gasped. I looked up at him and watched the pulsing lights play over his face.

        He was gorgeous.

        “You’re so hard,” he said.

        There was no time to respond to him. The song changed tempo and he flipped me onto my front faster than I could comprehend, tangling his fingers in my hair to pull me back off the floor. He drove his hips forward once before he rolled me to the side and lifted my leg up to grind his front against my ass over and over. Then he turned onto his back and took me with him. I straddled his waist at the same time he placed his hands on my hips. Keeping eye contact with me, he took a pocketknife out of his back pocket and flicked the blade out. He cut through the rope tying my arms with no trouble.

        “How’d I do?” he asked as he tucked the knife back into his pocket.

        I thrust my hips a few times. “Do you really have to ask?”

        He grinned. “I guess not.”

        Isabel came running up to us, squealing the entire way. “Oh my god, Eren! I thought you said you couldn’t dance, you liar! That was incredible. Maybe _you_ should be a cage dancer.”

        “No way. I can’t dance the way Levi does,” he remarked. “Armin just taught me a routine that had me grinding all over the place.”

        I stared down at him dreamily. “I liked the grinding.”

        “I can tell,” Isabel said, eyeing the evident bulge in my shorts.

        “Don’t even go there with me right now.” I brought my hands up to look at my wrists. The rope had rubbed the skin red. “I’m surprised Armin isn’t here by now. He should be yelling his approval.”

        Eren sat up and took my wrists into his hands. He massaged the sore areas. “I don’t think he’ll approve of what I just did. I cut the dance short.”

        “What?”

        “Not by much, but you know how he is.”

        As if on cue, Armin came charging at us with the force of a rhino on speed. He pointed a finger at Eren, but before he could utter one word, I said, “Thank you for teaching him that dance, Armin. I loved it.”

        He stopped mid-charge, eyes flicking over to my face to take in my blissed out expression. “Of course you would say that just as I’m getting ready to berate your man.”

        “He did good,” I said with a shrug.

        Mikasa joined us. She took the clip out of her hair and sighed in relief as the heavy locks tumbled down to her shoulders. “Let’s start cleaning everything up. I’m beat.” She looked at me. “Did you enjoy your party?”

        “Very much.” I smiled.

        “I’m glad. You did great tonight.”

        “Thank you.”

        Eren patted me on the back. “All right. Let’s clean this place up so we can go home.”

        I stood up and waited until he was busy gathering stuff up to take Mikasa off to the side. When we were far enough away that I was sure we couldn’t be overhead, I said, “I need to talk to you about Reiner.”

        “Armin told me what he did. Also, while Eren was dancing for you, I opened the gift he gave you. With how he was acting, I knew it was something unpleasant.” She made a disgusted face. “I’m going to fire him tomorrow.”

        “What was it?”

        Instead of answering the question, she led me toward the pile of gifts that were lined up along the bar countertop. She had set the box Reiner had given me behind the rest, concealing it from view. She picked it up and handed it to me with an odd expression contorting her features. I didn’t want to see what was inside, but I opened it up anyway. Right on top, there was an old T-shirt of mine, one I’d thrown out after I accidentally ripped it while practicing a dance routine with Armin. I moved it to the side and saw numerous candid photos of me, taken from afar. Looking at my face captured at different angles made me feel sick to my stomach. Bile rose up in my throat as my heart thumped unevenly in my chest.

        “There’s also a letter,” Mikasa said, digging it out of the box. She unfolded the piece of notebook paper and read, “‘I’m always watching you, Levi. I can make you happier than Eren. Just give me a chance.’”

        I squeezed my eyes closed, suddenly dizzy. “What do I do? I—He’s been stalking me, hasn’t he? That's what this all means.”

        “Yes.” She put the letter back into the box and closed it. “Tomorrow I want you to take this down to the courthouse and file a restraining order against him. He’s dangerous. From the looks of it, he’s been following you for some time now, and that type of behavior can only lead to something far worse than this.”

        “What if Eren finds—”

        “He’s not going to find out,” Mikasa interrupted in a grave voice. “If he sees all this, he’ll go after Reiner himself. That won’t end well.”

        I knew she was right, but I didn’t want to keep something like this from him. He would be curious about what Reiner gave me. What was I supposed to do when he asked about it? Lie to him? I couldn’t do that without putting an unwanted rift in our relationship.

        “I can’t keep this from him, Mikasa. But I also won’t let him take matters into his own hands, because I don’t want him to confront Reiner. Not with something like this. He could end up hurt and that’s the last thing I want.”

        She tucked the box behind the counter. “Now that I think about it, maybe it’s for the best that you tell him. That way he can file a restraining order too. Reiner has access to the warehouse he holds his underground fights in, and if they run into each other there, well, I’m sure you know how that would go.”

        “What are we talking about here?” Eren asked, coming out of nowhere. Both Mikasa and I jolted.

        I tried to smile to hide the mixed emotions I was feeling, but it felt uncertain and wobbly on my face. “Just about how great your dance was.” I wouldn’t tell him about Reiner here. I wanted us to be at home, safe in bed. Miles away from the box that contained things that made my stomach squirm in repulsion.

        “Well, Isabel wants to hit up a diner before we head home. Are you up for it? Or should we make it another night?”

        “No, we can do it tonight,” I said, hoping he didn’t notice the slight tremble in my voice.

        “Okay, I’ll tell her we’ll head out soon.” He stepped back and scrutinized my face. “Are you feeling okay? You look a bit pale.”

        I tried the smile again. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

        “We’ll sleep in tomorrow.” He kissed the side of my head. “Go ahead and go get changed. I’ll pack up all the gifts after I help Armin sweep up the confetti. It shouldn’t take too long.”

        “‘Kay.”

        Right after he left, I sat down in the bar stool directly behind me and held back tears that were threatening to spill over at any second. This whole thing happened too suddenly. I hadn’t been prepared to deal with this on the night of my big debut. Even when I knew Reiner was bad news, someone I couldn’t trust in the least, I never pictured him stalking me. Had he been following me around since the night I refereed at the warehouse? What private moments had he seen? And how many pictures of me did he have?

        This was too much to take in all at once. If I didn’t calm down soon, I was going to make myself sick.

        “We’re going to straighten this out,” Mikasa said, taking my hand. She squeezed it. “I promise.”

        I nodded. “I know.”

        I just hoped that I never had to see Reiner again.

 

\---

 

Isabel ended up choosing a diner near the club. It turned out that it was famous for its lemon meringue pie, so she ordered each of us a piece, along with a warm cup of apple cider to wash it down with. I didn’t even bother to remind her that I was vegan and chose not to eat dairy products. Right now a slice of pie didn’t sound bad. Plus, after everything that happened, I was more than willing to cheat for the night. In the long run, it wouldn’t do me any harm.

        When the waitress came with our order, setting everything down on the table a little too harshly, Eren eyed me. I knew he was waiting for me to say something about the pie, but I remained quiet and picked up a fork instead.

        “Will that be all for you folks?” the waitress asked in a cheery tone that sounded forced. She smelled of cigarettes and hairspray, which was mixed in with the fried food aroma.

        “Yes, thank you,” Isabel said.

        Eren turned to me once the waitress was out of sight and took my face into his hands. I looked into his different colored eyes, the ones I loved so much, but I still couldn’t calm down. “Hey, what’s wrong? I know you’re not all right.”

        I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”

        “It’s that creep, isn’t it?” Izzy asked. “The one that was pissing Eren off at the party.”

        I sighed. The cat was out of the bag now. “Yes, but I don’t want to think about it right now. Let’s just eat our pie, okay? Please?” All I wanted was to put this off for a little while longer.

        “Will you talk to me about this tomorrow?”

        “Yes,” I told him.

        He dropped his hands from my face and picked up the fork by his plate. I leaned my head on his shoulder as he started to eat his pie. I hated how this night had been tainted by Reiner. This wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out, but I couldn’t stop thinking about those photos. There had been so many. Picture after picture of me taken where he wasn’t supposed to be. What if he was here now? Watching me while I sat here in this booth? Paranoid, I whipped around and scanned the people around us, but Reiner wasn’t amongst them.

        “Levi?” Eren grabbed my hand under the table. When I looked at him, I could see how worried he was.

        “I’m sorry,” I said in a hurry. I needed to get a hold of myself. If I kept this up, he would do something rash, but I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

        “You’re acting strange. Does this have something to do with the gift Reiner gave you? Did you open it while I was cleaning up?”

        The queasiness I felt earlier came back worse than ever. I looked down at the piece of pie on the plate in front of me and couldn’t even imagine eating it. Then it hit me. The reason behind this anxiety was because I didn’t feel safe. Reiner could be lurking outside the diner right now, watching me through one of the many windows. The thought that he was near made my heart race, beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I couldn’t be here anymore. Not until everything was resolved and I knew he couldn’t get anywhere near me. Even then, would I truly be safe?

        “Let’s go home,” I said, breathing fast. My chest hurt whenever I inhaled.

        Isabel looked at me. “I think you’re having a panic attack.”

        Eren took my chin between thumb and forefinger and forced me to look at him. “Levi, breathe. You’re okay. I’m right here.”

        I shook my head, wanting to explain to him why I was like this to begin with, but I couldn’t breathe right. Each breath was coming out as a short, quick puff that left no room for speaking. So when he pulled me into his arms, I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes, just focusing on regulating my breathing.

        “You’re okay,” Eren repeated, rubbing my back. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

        “I’m going to get a to-go box,” Isabel said as she stood up. She sidestepped out of the booth and hurried over to the front counter. Now all I could hear was the subtle babble from the people sitting in the booth behind us. They sounded happy, voices light as they ate their food. That’s what I wanted when I agreed to come here, but it was impossible to act normal when I thought about Reiner and the things he was capable of doing.

        “Feeling a bit better now?” Eren asked, stroking my hair.

        “Yeah.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into him. “I’m sorry for causing a scene.”

        “You have nothing to be sorry about. There’s obviously something bothering you.”

        I nodded in agreement. Even though it was hard to speak the words, I pushed them out of my mouth anyway. “The present Reiner gave me at the party”—I swallowed—“it was filled with pictures of me and one of my old T-shirts I threw out over a month ago. There was also a letter…” Eren had gone rigid against me, but I forced the rest out. “He’s been stalking me. I don’t know for how long, but Mikasa thinks it’s been a while.”

        Nothing broke the silence for a long time. I listened to the constant chatter around us, felt Eren bunch his fists on my back, and then heard him release a breath he’d been holding. “I’m going to kill him,” he said at last.

        I held him tighter, afraid he might get up and leave me here alone. “No. Tomorrow we’re going to the courthouse to file a restraining order against him, and Mikasa is going to fire him from the club.”

        “And you think that makes everything okay?”

        The tears I’d been holding back for hours finally spilled over and ran down my cheeks. I shook my head. “It doesn’t, but I won’t let you get hurt. I don’t want you anywhere near him. Please, Eren?”

        “Fine,” he agreed. With some effort, he unclenched his fists. “I won’t go near him. For you.”

        “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been building up the Reiner creepiness since chapter 1, and his true ways are finally out there. My poor Levi. He was shocked about the whole thing, and who wouldn't be?
> 
> But, thank you for reading and commenting! I love you guys! <3
> 
> P.S. I've had some people express some concern for rape tags, but there will be no non-con in this fic. I'm not going there, okay? Otherwise I would've already tagged that, so people would have been aware from the beginning. But, once again, I'm not going there. Don't worry.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the longest its ever taken me to update one of my fics, but I had a lot going on in my life and I decided that I needed to focus on that rather than worrying about my fics. But everything is finally settling down once again, so hopefully it will never take me this long (almost a month--yikes!) to update again. :)

 

I poured an obscene amount of sugar into my tea. Since I hadn’t slept a wink the night before, I was counting on this caffeine slash sugar rush to get me through the next several hours. I wanted to be at the courthouse the moment it opened. The sooner I filed a restraining order against Reiner, the sooner I could move passed it. Just the thought of him skulking around my apartment complex filled me with dread. How could he follow me around? What did he think would happen when I opened up his supposed gift last night? That I would go running into his arms like he was Prince Charming?

        On top of everything else, he was also demented—a disaster waiting to happen.

        “I thought you didn’t take sugar in your tea,” Eren said as he joined me in the kitchen, startling me out of my thoughts. He placed his hand on the curve of my lower back and turned his head to kiss the side of mine. “You look tired.”

        “I couldn’t sleep with everything that happened last night. Hence the reason for the sugar. I need something to keep me awake.”

        He stiffened behind me. Then, with some effort, he relaxed his stance and wrapped his arms around my waist. He propped his chin on the top of my head. “We’re taking care of everything today. We can do something to get your mind off all this when we’re done at the courthouse. Or we can come back here, so you can take a much needed nap.”

        “I’d prefer if we went to your apartment,” I said, stirring my tea until the sugar dissipated in the liquid. I felt calmer when he was holding me, like he was gripping onto the loose threads that were threatening to unravel. He wasn’t allowing me to fall apart, or wallow in this alone, and for that I was grateful.  

        “It’s our apartment now. Remember?”

        I smiled in spite of the whirlpool of emotions that were making me queasy. “Do you want to stop by the post office today to turn in that change of address form? We can do it before we go to the courthouse.”

        “The obvious answer to that question is ‘yes.’”

        “Okay. Let me just drink this, then we’ll head out.”

        Just as I brought the mug to my lips, ready to down the tea to avoid tasting it, Eren turned me around and cupped my face. He looked into my eyes as he said, “You don’t have to worry about anything, okay? I won’t let Reiner anywhere near you. You know that, right?”

        “Yes. I just want to put this whole thing behind me, and once we _both_ file a restraining order against him, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

        “Good. I’m going to call Mikasa real fast, to make sure she has security with her when she goes into work tonight. I don’t know how Reiner is going to react when she fires him, so it’s best that she’s not alone when she does it.”

        “Yeah, go call her. I’ll finish up my tea.”

        When he stepped out of the kitchen, I went to sit down at the dining table. I took one sip of tea and regretted my decision to add sugar. It tasted disgustingly sweet. I contemplated pouring it down the drain and fixing myself another cup, but then I felt the heaviness of my eyelids and forced down another mouthful. Once we were through at the courthouse, and the restraining order was on its way to Reiner, my mood would lighten. I’d go to Eren’s apartment, rest up for a few hours, then spend the rest of the night with him. I wouldn’t let Reiner ruin the entire day for me.

        So, down the hatch this awful tea went, because I was on the verge of falling asleep right here at the dining table. It took a lot longer than I expected to drink it, but once it was gone, I felt like I was ready to face the day.

        While I was washing the mug I’d used, doing my best to ignore the bitter taste the tea had left in my mouth, Eren came back into the kitchen. He tucked his cell phone into the front pocket of his jeans and said, “She’s going to have Jean, Ymir, and Thomas with her when she calls Reiner into her office tonight. If it were up to me, I would be there too, but they don’t trust me to keep it together.”

        “You definitely don’t need to be there.” I shot him a look over my shoulder and he shrugged, because we both knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep it together. “Do you think he’ll try something, though?” I put the mug in the dish rack before I dried my hands off and turned around to face him. Nerves pinched at my stomach. I leaned back on the counter to ease the vertigo that had hit me out of nowhere. Fuck. How long would this sense of uneasiness last? I wanted to be rid of it already.

        “I don’t think he will. Not with that many people in the room, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. I don’t want Mikasa to take any chances with that bastard.”

        “Yeah. Let’s just hope everything goes smoothly.”

        “It will. Don’t worry,” he said as he grabbed my car keys off the counter. “You ready to go?”

        I nodded, but didn’t move to follow him out of the apartment. Drinking that tea on an empty stomach had been a bad idea. I felt nauseous now. It rolled through me until I was forced to cradle my head in my hands. The lack of sleep wasn’t helping any, either. It was making everything worse.

        “Levi?” Eren questioned in concern.

        “I’m fine. My stomach just hurts a bit.”

        “You’re not fine.” He came up to where I stood and pulled me against him. I sagged into the embrace, closing my eyes and letting his familiar scent envelop me. “I know you’re scared. That’s normal, but I wish you would talk to me about what you’re feeling. Don’t keep it all bottled up inside and shoulder it on your own. I know you’re not okay. You don’t have to pretend that you are.”

        I leaned my forehead against his shoulder. “I just want this to be over with, you know? The thought of him following me around makes me sick. How could he invade my privacy like that?”

        “Because he’s a sorry excuse for a human being, but he won’t follow you again after today. I’ll stay with you until the restraining order is final.”

        “I know you will.” I chuckled. “You’re kind of over protective of me, Eren Jaeger.”

        He scoffed. “I’m not.” He considered this for a moment, and then said, “Okay, maybe I am a little over protective. I can’t help it most of the time. I don’t want to see you hurt.” He leaned back to scrutinize my expression, his face pinched with worry. “Does it bother you?”

        “Not at all,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his collarbone.

        “You’re not just saying that, are you?”

        I shook my head. “No. I mean it. But I just thought of something you can do for me.”

        “What is it?”

        “I want you to teach me how to fight. I want to be able to defend myself.” This whole ordeal had opened my eyes to the fact that I was more or less useless when it came to self-defense. Even with Reiner out of the picture, there were other people who could take his place. Especially when I worked as a cage dancer at a nightclub. It wasn’t uncommon for customers to become obsessed with a certain dancer. Take Armin’s stalker, for instance, the one that stabbed Eren in the arm. What would I do if someone like that set their sights on me? I didn’t want to be helpless anymore. I wanted to know what to do if I were put in a situation where I would need fight my way out.

        “I can do that. We’ll start tomorrow.”

        “Okay. Tomorrow.”

        I wouldn’t stop until I was confident enough that I could take someone like Reiner down.

 

\---

 

We had just stepped out of the courthouse, the mid-afternoon sun blocked by a mass of clouds overhead, when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I fished it out and glanced at the screen. Isabel was calling, which didn’t surprise me after what happened last night at the diner. She probably wanted to know how I was doing today; how I was coping with everything.

        After I accepted the call, I brought the phone to my ear and said, “Hello?”

        “Don’t hate me,” she blurted out right away, “but I might have told your mom about Reiner.”

        I froze on the steps that led down to the parking lot. It had been a couple of weeks since I’d last spoken to my mother. For the most part, I’d been avoiding her since I accepted a job at Club Rose, because I was afraid she would disapprove of this new lifestyle of mine—that she would disapprove of Eren. I hadn’t told her much about him aside from the fact that we were dating. Other than that, though, she knew next to nothing about how serious this relationship of ours had become, and now I was moving in with him in a matter of weeks.

         “How did something like that just pop up in conversation?” I said loud enough for a few people to stop and stare at me, but they were quick to look away when Eren turned his gaze on them.

        “I don’t know. She called me to see how you were doing, because you haven’t been returning her calls lately, and I ended up getting emotional... It just slipped out, Levi.”

        I opened my mouth to unleash a flood of questions, but then my phone alerted me that I was receiving another call. I didn’t have to check to know who it was. “I have to call you back, Izzy. She’s already calling me.”

        “I know it wasn’t my place to tell her, and I’m sorry for that, but I think it’s good that you’re going to talk to her. She’s been really worried about you.”

        “I know she has. But I’ll text you later. I don’t want to keep her waiting any longer.” I switched over to the incoming call and said, “Hey, Mom.” That was a pathetic greeting. The opening line should’ve been an apology, or at least an explanation.

        “That’s all I get after you’ve been avoiding my calls for weeks now?”

        Well, she got straight to the point, didn’t she? I couldn’t even blame her for that. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been busy with my new job.”

        “I’ve heard all about it, along with the news about your stalker. With everything that Isabel told me, I want to make sure you’re okay. Why don’t you drop by for dinner tonight? Seeing you will put my mind at ease.”

        I glanced at Eren, and then fixed my eyes on a spot ahead of us. “Okay, I’ll come over.”

        “Bring your boyfriend along. I think it’s time that I met him.”

        _Shit._

        “Um, okay, sure,” I blabbered out.

        “Dinner will be ready at six-thirty. I’ll see you then.”

        “See you.” I ended the call and squeezed my eyes shut. It’s not that I was planning to keep things from her forever, but this was happening way too fast. I had no time to prepare. Plus, dropping this on Eren at the last second would give him the wrong idea. The last thing I needed was for him to think I’d kept the details of our relationship a secret from her because I was ashamed of him. That wasn’t true in the least. I just didn’t know how to go about bringing this up in conversation. My mother was very picky about certain things and I didn’t think I could handle her judging him before she even knew him.

        “What’s going on?” Eren asked.

        I darted a glance at the people around us and took his hand. I didn’t want to discuss this in front of an audience. “Come on.” I directed him toward the parking lot and didn’t stop until both of us were inside my car. Then I pressed my forehead against the steering wheel and tried to conjure up words to begin this conversation, but they evaded me.

        He put his hand on my shoulder. “What’s wrong, Levi?”

        “That was my mom on the phone. She wants us to drop by for dinner tonight.” I turned my head to look at his face. I expected him to look a little stunned, maybe even embarrassed, but I did not expect him to look downright mortified.

        “She wants to meet me?” he said in a voice I’d never heard him use before. He sounded like all the oxygen had been zapped from his lungs. Was he that nervous about meeting my mother?

        “Yes. I mean, we have been dating for a while now...”

        “I know that. I just didn’t expect for it to happen so suddenly.”

        “You can blame your sister for that one. Apparently she called my mom and filled her in on my stalker situation.” I slid my glasses off in order to pinch the bridge of my nose. I could feel a headache coming on. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ve told her nothing but good things about you.”

        A smile played at the edges of his mouth, but it vanished just as quick as it appeared. “Does she know you work as a cage dancer? Does she even know how we met?”

        “I may have kept those facts to myself.”

        He groaned. “Oh, fuck, she’s going to hate me. I’m the guy that every mother warns their kids about.”

        “She’s not going to hate you.” I reached across the center console and grabbed his hand. I interlaced our fingers. “I love you, Eren. Working at Club Rose is something that I want to do, as well. If she doesn’t accept that, it won’t matter to me. It won’t change anything.”

        “If it didn’t matter, then why have you kept it from her?”

        I shrugged, staring down at our hands instead of at him. “I didn’t know how she would take it. I’ve never done anything like this before. She’s used to...a different Levi, a Levi that follows the rules, but I wasn’t happy with the person I was. Believe me when I say that I’m much happier with who I am today.”

        “Let’s just hope your mom can see that for herself.”

        “She will.” I turned the key in the ignition and backed out of the parking space without saying anything more. While I drove to his apartment, he stayed quiet. I wanted to comfort him in some way, to assure him that nothing would go wrong tonight, but I didn’t know how. I never meant to spring this on him without any warning. More than that, I never meant to make him feel insecure. I wished I could show him how much he meant to me. How, whenever I looked at him, everything fell into place and fit perfectly—better than I thought it ever could.

        When I pulled into his apartment complex, I couldn’t take the silence anymore. I slammed on the brakes and Eren jolted forward, all but slamming into the dashboard. His bewildered expression was enough to make me burst into laughter. He hadn’t put on his seatbelt before we left the courthouse.                               

        “What the hell, Levi?” he said, righting himself.

        “You look so betrayed right now.”

        “Yeah, well... You did slam on the brakes for no apparent reason.”

        I eased my foot on the gas pedal and steered the car into his assigned parking space. “I’m sorry. I just hated the face you were making. Nothing bad is going to happen tonight. My mom won’t make you walk the plank or anything.”

        “She could hate me.”

        “She won’t,” I said. “And even if she did, it wouldn’t make a difference to me.” That wasn’t entirely true. I would be hurt if she decided to hate him, but I wouldn’t call our relationship off. I wasn’t willing to give him up. What did I have to do to make that clear to him?

        “I don’t know, Levi, I want her to like me. I mean, I _am_ very serious about her son.”

        I raised an eyebrow as I shut off the engine. “How serious?”

        “Serious enough to marry him.”

        I didn’t know what I was expecting him to say, but it sure wasn’t that. It felt like he’d electrocuted my heart. It hammered in my chest like it had every intention of galloping right out of my ribcage.

        Marry me? He wanted to marry me?

        Call 911, I was officially dead.

        “Levi?” he asked.

        I gripped the steering wheel, the rubber squeaking beneath my palms, and said, while looking at anything but him, “You want to marry me?”

        I never pictured myself getting married. I’d sort of given up on relationships before I met Eren, but now that he put the thought in my head, I couldn’t help but imagine a life with him. A life where we had a house together and it was stuffed full of our belongings. Would we adopt kids? A little boy? Oh, my god. Eren would be the hottest dad ever.

        “You’re really red right now,” Eren said.

        “Sh-shut up.” I buried my face against my arms so he wouldn’t be able to see the blush coloring my cheeks. “You didn’t answer the question.”

        “Which one? Oh, you mean the one where you asked me if I want to marry you?” He snaked his hand beneath my folded arms and grabbed onto my chin to turn my head. When I was looking at him with cheeks hot enough to start a fire, he said, “I’d like to marry you one day, Levi.”

        I remember when I was in high school, Isabel talked me into taking an art class with her, even though I didn’t have the slightest interest in the subject. On our first day, the teacher had asked us to draw a representational piece. Throughout the class, I stared and stared at the blank piece of paper in front of me, but never once dipped my brush in paint. I kept overthinking it, and whenever I attempted to map out the structure of a tree—something simple like that—I couldn’t do it, so I didn’t even try. By the time the release bell rang, I hadn’t drawn a thing. When the teacher saw this, she told me to imagine that the drawing was already there. That, with each stroke of my brush, I was simply revealing it.

        At the time, I didn’t understand what that meant. I thought she was just taking pity on me, but now it made sense. With every day that passed, more and more of my life was revealed to me, but it felt like it’d been there the entire time, just waiting for me to discover it.

        “Will you make a romantic proposal?” I asked in a small, shy voice.

        “Is that what you want?”

        I looked at him for a fraction of a second before I returned my eyes to my lap. I nodded.

        “Then that’s what I’ll do,” he said. “Now let’s go inside. I think you should sleep some before we head over to your mom’s place.”

        “Okay.” I pushed open the driver’s side door and stepped out onto the asphalt. Then I waited for Eren to go around the front of the hood to get to my side. When he held out his hand, I took it, and we walked hand in hand to his apartment. Now that he mentioned sleep, I was reminded of how tired I was. In spite of that, I felt better than I had since I’d seen what was inside Reiner’s gift. I was ready to put it behind me. I _needed_ to put it behind me.

        “Eren! Levi!”

        We both turned toward the familiar voice and saw Armin rushing toward us. Sometimes I forgot that he lived in the same apartment complex as Eren.

        “Hey, Armin,” Eren said when he stopped in front of us, blonde hair up in a man bun.

        Well, I bet Jean liked that.

        Armin waved him off and said, “I just got off the phone with Mikasa. I guess Reiner called her this morning and quit. He never even gave her a chance to fire his sorry ass.”

        “What a fucking coward.” Eren’s grip tightened on my hand and I was glad for it. “It doesn’t surprise me, though.”

        “You can say that again. But he told her that he wouldn’t be a problem for Levi anymore. That he was sorry for causing him trouble in the first place.”

        Eren clenched his teeth. “Do you believe him?”

        “No,” Armin said in a serious tone. “I think he plans on creating a lot more trouble than this.”   

       

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we meet Kuchel. I'm excited, because Eren is nervous as all hell, so it'll be fun to describe that.
> 
> Thank you guys for reading my work. It means a lot to me, and if it weren't for all the comments I receive, I honestly would've dropped this fic with all that happened in the past few weeks. So, thank you once again. <3


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've become an absurdly slow writer, but I hope you all enjoy this chapter. <3

“That’s the third outfit you’ve tried on,” I said to Eren, who was standing in front of the full length mirror beside his desk as he buttoned up his dark-blue twill shirt.

        He eyeballed my reflection through narrowed eyes. “This is your mother we’re talking about. The woman who gave birth to you. I need to look...respectable. I can’t go over there for dinner looking like some washed up delinquent.”          

        “Babe, you’re twenty-six years old. I don’t think it’s possible for you to look like a delinquent.”

        “What are you trying to say?” He turned around to face me while he still fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. “That I’m old? That I _look_ old?”

        I pressed my lips together in an attempt to stop the laughter that was bubbling up in my chest. The longer I stared at his face, the harder it was to keep it in. He looked so offended, like I’d just told him he was the ugliest creature to ever walk the earth. When his eyes darted down to take in the hint of a smile on my face, his mouth dropped opened, and that’s what caused the dam to burst. I erupted in a fit of laughter. I muffled the worst of it against his pillow, but I could tell by his audible snort that he could hear me just fine. He smacked my ass.

        “You find this funny?” he asked while he crawled over me. He grabbed my wrists and pressed them into the bed on either side of my head as he straddled my waist. “I’m on the verge of calling Armin over here to dress me up, and you’re sitting here laughing?”

        “I... can’t help it. Your...face!” I dissolved into another round of giggles.

        “Now my face is funny?” He leaned down and captured my bottom lip between his teeth, which cut off my laughter in record time. “Still funny?” he asked in a low voice, but before I could respond to the question, he slipped his tongue into my mouth. I leaned my head up to deepen the kiss, aching for it, but he pulled back seconds later. I pouted. “A little while ago you thought my face looked funny, and now you want me to kiss you?”

        I wiggled my hand free to snake my arm around his back. I pinched his ass cheek. “Oh, hush up. You _know_ I think you’re hot.”

        “Do you now?”

        “Mhm. I could eat you up. As a matter of fact...” I trailed off as I reached for the waistband of his jeans, but he trapped my hand in his before I could snag the button. I looked up at him, frowning.

        “Don’t look at me like that. We need to be at your mom’s house in a half hour,” he explained. “I don’t want to be late. Not to mention the fact that I always get carried away with you, and the last thing I need when I meet your mom for the first time is for you to be walking around like a baby llama. That would definitely be an ice breaker. ‘Hello, Ms. Ackerman. I know your son is walking a little funny, but I have a great explanation for that. I fucked him so hard that he has no other choice than to walk like an infant for the next several hours. Please forgive me. It won’t happen again.’ Which would be a lie.”

        I rolled my eyes. “All right. I get it. No need to exaggerate.” I grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged him down toward me, smiling when he gasped. “You do look really sexy in that shirt, though.”

        “Don’t go there,” Eren groaned. “It’s hard resisting you, as it is.”

        “I bet it’s _very_ hard.” I lifted my knee and rubbed it against his growing erection.

        “You’re cruel.”

        Sitting up, I said, “I know, but if you want to be on time, then we better get going. It’ll take us around fifteen minutes to get there.”

        That got him off me in a hurry. He scanned himself once more in the full length mirror, adjusted the collar of his shirt, and then rushed downstairs. I followed him at a more convenient pace. I wasn’t too worried about arriving a few minutes late to my mother’s house. She _had_ sprung these dinner plans on us at the last second. We could afford to be a little lax.

        When I reached the first floor, Eren was scrounging around in the bathroom. I thought he was checking himself over for the umpteenth time in a row, but when he stepped out a few minutes later, he was sporting tousled, slicked back hair that made me do a double take. My mouth dropped open for an entirely different reason than his had earlier. How could someone be this attractive? How was it allowed? There was no way I would be able to keep my hands to myself in front of my mother with him looking like _that._

He had to be testing me.

“Are you doing this on purpose?” I demanded as he scooped up his shoes from off the floor.

        He looked at me, seemingly confused. “What are you talking about?”

        I made a grand gesture to his hair. “You look unbelievably edible with that hair.”

        “I do? I just wanted to get it out of my face.” He smiled in a way that suggested he was enjoying my reaction to this new look of his. With the smile remaining in place, he walked up to me and took my face in between his hands, pressing on my cheeks until my face got all squishy. “I have you so spoiled.”

        “Huh?” I blurted out in a muffled voice, my eyes shooting up to lock onto his. “I’m not spoiled.”

        “You are.” He brushed his lips against mine and whispered, “Whenever you want something, I give it to you. No questions asked. Now that I’m holding back, you’re getting fussy with me.”

        I took a step back, but he held onto me. “Oh, please. I am not getting fussy. I can do without sex for one night. Watch me get through this dinner with ease.”

        “All right, then let’s head out.” He ran his fingers through his hair and I actually _hmph_ ed. Maybe I was a tad bit spoiled in the sex department of our relationship, but I was not about to admit that to him. I could last an entire night without getting any action. I’d done it plenty of times. Of course all those times had been before I met him, but still, that didn’t matter in the least. I’d show him I could do this without a problem.

        “Let’s go,” I said, walking past him. I picked up my keys on the way to the front door, and strode out of the apartment without waiting for him to catch up. It was only after I made it to the parking lot in a cloud of frustration that I realized I was behaving like a spoiled kid who hadn’t gotten his way. “Ugh,” I grumbled under my breath, pulling open the driver’s side door of my car. I’d just slid behind the wheel when Eren sat down in the passenger seat with a huge smile plastered on his face. I glared daggers at him. “Don’t you dare say a word.”

        He held up his hands, but the smile never faltered. “I wasn’t planning to.”

        “Sure you weren’t.” I started the car and backed out of the parking space.        

        “So, where does your mom live, anyway? She has to live close by if she’s only fifteen minutes away.”

        “She is close by. She lives a couple blocks from our old high school. Me and Izzy used to walk there after classes all the time.”

        “Does your mom know that I’m Isabel’s brother?”

        I nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

        “Has Isabel told her about me?”

        The tremble in his voice made me turn my head to look at him. The smile was gone. It had been replaced with an expression I never wanted to see. “Izzy hardly talked about you back then,” I said, but when he did come up in conversation, she never had anything nice to say. She had made him out to be the bad guy he never was, to be the person who abandoned her without hesitation. Of course that left a bad impression on my mom. Although that angered me now, because she didn’t know the whole story, I couldn’t blame her for seeing him in a negative light. Not after all the things she heard over the years. “None of that matters now. I’m going to straighten everything out with her. You have nothing to worry about.”

        “Is that why you’re gripping the steering wheel like you’re looking to break it?”

        With some effort, I loosened my grip. I couldn’t help but worry about how tonight would pan out. I knew how much this meant to Eren. He wanted my mother’s approval. That much was clear with how he was behaving. So I didn’t want him to leave her house thinking that I’d changed my mind about him—about us—if he didn’t end up getting it.

        “She doesn’t like me, does she?”

        “She doesn’t know you,” I clarified. “Tonight she’ll get a chance to sit down with you and she’ll see—”

        “That I’m not good enough for you,” he interrupted. “That I never have been and probably never will be.”

        On impulse, I jerked the steering wheel to the right and cut off a Suburban in order to pull into a gas station. I slammed on the brakes and pointed a finger at his face. “Don’t you dare do that. Not after everything we’ve been through... After everything I’ve told you.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and crawled over the center console to plop down in his lap. I grabbed his face so he would look at me head on. “I love you so much, Eren. I look at you and it feels like my entire future is right there in the palm of your hand. So please don’t think that things will change between us after tonight, because they won’t.”

        “It’s just...” He looked away. “I want to feel worthy of you. I want to erase my past mistakes, to redo everything I did wrong, and meet you again with a clean slate. I want to be good for you.”

        “You are good for me. Those mistakes are what made you who you are today, and I love that person. I love everything about that person.”

        He turned his head to gaze out the window, his jaw strained tight. “An overly flawed person?”

        “Your flaws, your imperfections, they are a part of you _._ I wouldn’t change anything, even if I were given the chance. Would you change anything about me?”

        “No,” he said in a heartbeat. “Why would I want to? You’re perfect.”

        “But I’m not perfect. Not even close. There are plenty of things I don’t like about myself, but you looked at those things and fell in love with them. You made me not hate them so much.”

        He stared at me for a long time with an unreadable expression on his face. Then he said (more like groaned), “How are you even real?”

        “I take that as a sign that we’re good to go here?”

        “Yeah. I mean, we should definitely get a move on, because you’re blocking the entrance.”

        I scrambled back to my seat in a hurry. “Shit. Shit. Shit. See what you made me do? I’m going to get a ticket because of you, Eren Jaeger!”

        “Me?” He laughed, and though I was currently getting flipped off by a driver trying to turn into the gas station, the sound of it comforted me. “I didn’t make you drive in here.”

        I steered the car back onto the main road. “Um, you might as well have. Being all self-deprecating and such.”

        “Because I’m nervous. You mean the world to me, so it’s important what your mother thinks of me. I don’t want her to feel like I’m wrong for you. I want us to be on good terms, you know? I want her to know that her son is in good hands.”

        “Who knew you could be so cute?” I reached across the center console and grabbed his hand. “Everything is going to turn out fine. You’ll see.”

 

\---

 

I pulled up in front of my mother’s house five minutes before we were supposed to be there. I expected Eren to lurch out of the car the second it rolled to a stop, since he seemed eager to be on time, but he just sat there looking at my childhood home with uncertain eyes.

        “Ready?” I asked, even though it was evident that he wasn’t.

        He rubbed his hands on his jeans a few times and blew out a shaky breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

        I pushed open the car door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. A warm breeze rustled the leaves of a nearby tree, the air filled with the strong aroma of blooming roses. It was a familiar smell I associated with home. Although I didn’t know what to expect from this dinner, because I couldn’t predict what would happen in the next hour, it felt good to be here. It had been a while since I’d last visited my mom.

        As Eren rounded the hood of the car, I held my hand out to him. He took it immediately. I gave it a reassuring squeeze.

        “It’s going to be fine,” I told him.

        “Tell that to my stomach. It feels like it’s in my throat.”

        We walked up the pathway to the front porch, where I reached out and rang the doorbell. Not even a minute passed by before the door swung open. The next thing I knew I was in my mother’s arms as she pulled me into a hug. I returned it as best I could, but she was holding me in a way that made it difficult to move my arms. At last she leaned back and put her hands on my shoulders so she could scan me from head to foot.

        “You’ve lost weight,” she said.

        “I’ve actually put on weight. I’ve been doing a lot of dancing for the past couple of months, so I’ve toned up quite a bit.”

        “Dancing? Since when do you dance?”

        “How about we go inside,” I suggested, not wanting to discuss this matter on the front porch. “We can talk over dinner.”

        “All right.” Her eyes trained on Eren, who was fidgeting beside me. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

        “Oh, yes, of course,” I said. “Mom, this is Eren Jaeger. Eren, this is my mother Kuchel.”

        My mom held out her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Eren. I’ve heard a lot of things about you.”

        “It’s nice to meet you, too,” he responded. He shook her hand a couple of times, his movements robotic. I’d never seen him this nervous before. Normally he came off as someone who could handle anything that was thrown his way, like the world was his playground of choice. Right now he looked like he was shitting bricks by the dozen. It shouldn’t have been funny, considering the situation we were in, but it kind of was. I found myself fighting back laughter for the second time today. When my mother turned around and walked back inside the house, Eren shot me a look and hissed, “I swear if you laugh right now...”

        “Blame yourself for this sudden outburst.” I clamped a hand over my mouth, but the laughter was already pouring out of me. “You look like you’re trying to shit.”

        “You’re unbelievable.”

        I buried my face against his chest. “I know. I know. I’m sorry. I promise to make it up to you.” I kissed the underside of his chin and moved up until our lips met. “Let’s go inside.”

        “Don’t think you’re getting away with this.”

        “Oh, I don’t want to get away with this. I fully intend to make you punish me for my bad behavior. I did get a lot of new toys at the after party you threw me last night. Are you going to put them to good use?”

        He slid his fingers into my hair and pulled on the strands. My head snapped back, but not in a painful way. I was goo in his hands. “Maybe I’ll have you use them on yourself while I watch. Or”—he leaned in close, lips brushing against my ear—“maybe I’ll make you wait.”

        “Are you guys coming in?” my mother called from somewhere inside the house. We jumped apart at the sound of her voice.

        “C-coming!” I yelled back, all too aware of the bulge in my pants.

        “Getting hard at a time like this.” Eren _tsk_ ed as he stared at me. “You’re being a naughty boy.”

        It never occurred to me that I was this kinky until I started dating him. Before we met, sex wasn’t too appealing for me. I never put much thought into it. I spent the majority of my time drowning in work, and whenever I happened upon free time, I would curl up in bed with a book, or hang out with Izzy. Dating always seemed like it was far more trouble than it was worth, so it was a general rule of mine to steer clear of men. Of course steering clear of Eren had proven impossible from the start. Now I craved him in every way imaginable. But it was so much more than sexual attraction that kept me coming back for more. I trusted him with everything.

        Maybe I wouldn’t be able to last an entire night without him. Was he really planning to make me wait longer than I already had to?

        The torture.

        “Let’s head in,” Eren said, wrapping his arm around my waist to direct me toward the door.

        As we stepped inside the entryway, my mother came around the corner. She gestured for us to follow her into the dining room, where she had the table set up with various vegan dishes. There were homemade spinach enchiladas, some eggplant parmesan, a broccoli quiche, and several bowls filled with what looked like tomato basil soup.

        “I didn’t know what you would like,” she said as way of explanation for the abundance of food. All of it looked and smelled delicious. “So I cooked a lot, as I’m sure you can see. I hope there’s something there that you’ll like.”

        I stepped up to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. I kissed the side of her head. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble just for me.”

        “It wasn’t any trouble. I wanted to show you that I support your lifestyle. It was also nice to cook something out of the ordinary. I’ve never made eggplant parmesan before, but I’m looking forward to trying it out.”

        “Thank you. It means a lot, Mom.”

        She pulled out a chair. “Sit down. Let’s eat while everything is still nice and hot.”

        After everyone had taken a seat around the table, Eren said, “I can’t get over how much Levi looks like you, Kuchel.”

        My mom smiled and regarded me with warm eyes. “When he was younger, he went to greats lengths to make himself look less like me. He said he didn’t want to look like a girl. That he wanted to be a manly man with big muscles.”

        “Can we not?” I said.

        Eren waved his hand at me. “Be quiet. I want to hear this.”

        “He even cut his eyelashes once. Just snipped them right off,” my mom continued, smiling softly as she remembered a younger me. “I drew the line when he buzzed his hair off while I was at work, but in an act of defiance, he kept buzzing the bottom half.”

        “So that’s how the undercut was born.” Eren grinned like he’d just heard the most precious thing. Unconsciously, he lifted his hand to rub the back of my head. My mother followed the action with her eyes.

        “So,” she said, “how did you two meet? You’ve been together for quite some time now, but I hardly know anything about how you guys got acquainted.”

        His grin vanished. “Um, well...”

        “Do you remember how I got fired from my job a while back?” I asked, stepping in to rescue him from having to explain things. She nodded. “Well, Eren helped me get a job at a nightclub called Club Rose. I’ve been working there for a few months now and it’s been great. I really love it.”

        “What do you do there? You mentioned dancing earlier.”

        There it was. The question I’d been so reluctant to answer in previous conversations, but now was not the time to worry about her reaction. I wanted to prove to Eren that I wasn’t ashamed of him. That I wasn’t ashamed of what I did. “I’m a cage dancer,” I said, watching her face carefully. Her brows shot up, but other than that, she didn’t react like I thought she would. “I also do some pole dancing, which I have a knack for.”

        “I see. Do you work there as well, Eren?”

        “I do,” he said. “I’m the head of security. I usually work the front doors as a bouncer, but I’ve more or less taken up being Levi’s personal security guard ever since he started working there.”

        “I can’t say that I object to that.” She gestured to the food. “Help yourselves to anything you’d like.”

        “That’s all you have to say about all this?” I asked.

        “To you being cage dancer? Yes, that’s all I have to say on the matter. You said that you really loved your job, and that’s what matters to me most. If you’re happy, and safe, then I’m okay with it. I do want you to be careful from here on out, though. From what Isabel told me over the phone, that Reiner character is not one to take lightly.”

        Eren stopped scooping food onto his plate. “You don’t have to worry about Reiner. He won’t ever touch Levi. I’ll make sure of that.”

        To my surprise, my mom patted him on the shoulder. “I’m counting on you.”

        For the next hour, we talked about many different things. About my job. About Armin and Mikasa. About Izzy. It amazed me how accepting my mom of everything. She never once questioned my job, or my relationship with Eren. She spoke with him like they were old friends catching up. It made me so happy that I almost cried into my soup.

        “You okay?” Eren asked, always able to detect my mood changes.

        I nodded. “I’m more than okay.”

        Everything was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically the calm before the storm. *cries*
> 
> Thank you for reading. Like always, comments and feedback are very much appreciated. :)


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I received some fanart, you can view it [here.](http://warriorflesh.tumblr.com/post/150356881844/senpai-will-notice-you-for-warriorfleshs)
> 
> Thank you to the amazing artist!

Eren’s room was littered with boxes we were supposed to have unpacked hours ago, but we were too busy spending the better part of our morning lazing around in bed. Under the thick duvet, the only audible sound was our breathing as we pressed our lips together. Eren’s hand skimmed over my bare hip, then up along my side, silently urging me to move closer to him. When there was no room left between us, I said, “We’ve been confined to this bed for hours now. We’re supposed to be up and unpacking my things.”

        “I am up,” he responded.

        I snorted. “That is not what I mean, and you know it.”

        “Fine. We’ll get up and be productive in a little while. But for now”—he pulled me on top of him and I could feel which part of _him_ was already up and ready to go—“let’s stay in bed.”

        “I have to dance in the cage tonight,” I warned him, “so don’t even think about getting frisky.”

        “Frisky? Did you really just say that? Wow. And you say I’m old. Clearly you need to work on your vocabulary game, because right now you’re playing at a grandpa level.”

        “Oh, whatever.” I rolled off him and sat up. One glance at my chest confirmed what I already suspected. There was a small patch of hickeys starting from the hollow of my neck and leading down toward my stomach. Armin always told me to keep the love marks to a minimum, but I never had the heart to stop Eren. Plus, truth be told, I liked them quite a bit. “You sure do like giving me hickeys,” I said, shooting him a look that held no malice.

        Eren crawled to the end of the bed and kissed a mark he’d left on my hipbone. Then he propped his chin on my thigh and looked up at me through the hair that had fallen over his eyes. In this light, his left iris deepened to a rich topaz color while the right one became a bold jade. “Do you not like them?”

        “I don’t like them at all,” I retorted, enjoying his shocked expression before I added, “I love them.”

        He heaved out a sigh. “Do you like giving me heart attacks?”

        “Sorry. I forgot how easy it is to give old men heart attacks.”

        Before I knew what was happening, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me down onto the bed. He started tickling my sides, causing me to shriek like a pterodactyl on the loose. I kicked at him.

        “Eren, stop!” I yelled through laughter.

        “You can’t even push off an old man. That’s sad.”

        I tried to roll away from him, but he held me in place without a problem. Him and those damn irresistible arm muscles. “Quit it, you ass!”

        “Say please,” he said with a smirk on his face.

        “If you don’t stop, I’m going abstinent.”

        He froze in place. “You’re bluffing.”

        I sure was, but he didn’t have to know that. Now that he’d stopped his assault on my sides, I could afford to look smug. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Try me.”

        “You should have come with a warning sign. One that says: I am short, sexy, and evil.”

        “I’m not short. I’m average height.”

        He bit back laughter and attempted to appear serious when he said, “Of course you are, babe.”

        “You know what? I’m unpacking.” I scooted off the bed and stood up. There was a stack of boxes near his desk. I opened the top one and set to work.

        It took a week to pack everything I had stashed away in my studio apartment, and another week to move it all to Eren’s place. Although moving was a tedious process, I was too excited to mind. I never thought we would reach this point. Relationships were hard to build, but being with him had become second nature to me. Even when things got bumpy, we worked at the problem together until we figured a way to work it out. I knew things would only get harder with time, but there was no one else I wanted to fight for.

        In the box I’d opened, there was an assortment of hardcover books, which reminded me that Eren didn’t even own a bookcase. So I was either going to have to get creative with what I had at my disposal, or go out and buy one. I almost had too many books to do much else.

        “Come downstairs with me,” Eren said as he came up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist.

        I pointed to the box. “I’m unpacking.”

        “It won’t take long.” He turned me around and gave me a gentle shove toward the stairs. I decided to appease him. It’s not like I had anywhere to put my books, anyway.

        Downstairs, I waited for him to tell me why he wanted us to come down here, but then I saw it. There was a massive tree bookshelf on the far left wall. It hadn’t been there yesterday. Whirling around on the spot, I looked at him. He was smiling. His real smile. The one that made him look boyish.

        “How did I miss this when we came home last night?” I asked, but even as the words left my mouth, the answer hit me. He’d carried me in from the car and made sure my focus was on him, and him only. Now I knew why that was. I waved my finger at him. “You’re sneakier than I thought.”

        “I did it for a good cause.” He gestured to the bookshelf. “So, do you like it?”

        “Of course I do. But I like you more.”

        “You better like me more, because I have something else for you.”

        I clapped my hands together, excited despite myself. “What is it?”

        “Close your eyes,” he instructed. I did so right away. The second I couldn’t see what he was doing, I heard him moving about. I was a little surprised to hear the front door open and close, but then he said, “Okay, you can open them now.”

        My eyes shot open and I immediately saw that he was holding a box out to me. I took it from him and set it down on the arm of the couch. It wasn’t sealed, so all I had to do was open the flaps. Tucked away in the box, with a red ribbon around its neck, was a white kitten. “Oh, my god!” I squealed, too caught up in my present to care about how I sounded. “It’s so small and adorable.” I scooped up the kitten and held it to my chest.

        “Armin told me you mentioned Ragdoll cats to him, so that’s what I got you.”

        “Is it a male or female?”

        “Female?”

        I lifted the kitten up to eye level. My heart melted. “I love her.”

        “If I knew you would be this cute with a kitten, I would’ve bought one months ago.”

        “Are you implying that I’m not cute without a kitten?”

        He walked up to where I stood and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You’re always cute. But when we were out last night, I had Armin go out and buy all the essentials we’d need. Everything’s in the laundry room. Do you want to go and set up an area for her?”

        “Yes,” I said.

        We walked to the laundry room together and I was immediately confronted with a variety of things. When Eren said he got the essentials, I thought he was talking about a litter box and some cat foot, but there was so much more than that. He practically had a pet store in here. There was an enormous cat tower, an automatic litter box, several packs of cat food, a cat bed that looked fit for royalty, and an abundance of assorted toys. This little cat of mine was going to live the life.

        “Okay, I admit it,” I said. “I’m spoiled.”

        Eren grinned. “And I admit that I enjoy spoiling you.”

        I put the kitten down on the floor so I could slip my finger into the waistband of his boxers. I pulled him toward me. “Now that your arm’s all healed up, and you’re going back into work tonight as an actual security guard, are we going to put my dressing room to good use?”

        “You say that like we haven’t been putting it to good use this entire time.”

        “Mm, true.” The kitten meowed at my feet. I knelt down and scooped her up again. I couldn’t resist her fluffiness. “Let’s set up the litter box in here, and then take everything else out into the living room.”

        “Okay.”  

        With the kitten in my arms, I followed him out to the living room, and for the next twenty minutes we set everything up to my liking. When that was done, we collapsed back onto the couch. The living room was still cluttered with boxes that needed to be unpacked, but that could wait until tomorrow. Right now I wanted to be lazy. I wanted to sit here and cuddle with Eren and my cat. That was an ideal way to spend the afternoon.

        “What are you going to name her?” Eren asked.

        I looked down at the kitten. She had crazy blue eyes that were framed by light grey fur. The first name that popped into my head was, “Snickers.”

        “As in the candy bar?”

        “What? I think it’s cute. She’s like a sugary puffball.”

        He held his hands up, although the smile on his face told me how amusing he found this. “It’s your cat. If you want to call her Snickers, then Snickers it’ll be.”

        I raised the cat up and said, “That’s your name. Do you like it?” All the kitten did was stare at me before she wiggled around in hopes of being put down. I set her down at my feet and she darted under the coffee table, sniffing at the carpet as she made her way toward the cat tower. I turned to Eren. “Thank you.”

        “Anytime.”

 

\---

 

For the past twenty minutes, I’d been in my dressing room trying to stuff myself into the ensemble Armin picked out for me to wear tonight. As per usual, it fit me as tight as a glove. There was no wiggle room. It amazed me that the better parts of me put up with this treatment on a near day to day basis. Then again, when you did something often enough, it became the norm.

        “Finally,” I grumbled, once I managed to slip into the black leather pants. I gave myself a quick once over in the floor mirror to make sure everything was in order, and came to the conclusion that this outfit wasn’t so bad after all. My ass looked pretty nice in these pants. It was sure to get Eren’s attention.

        God, I was such a fool in love. He was all I thought about.

        As I was attempting to figure out the mechanics of the leather body harness that completed the outfit, someone walked into the room without knocking. For one awful moment, I thought it was Reiner coming back to finish what he started, but then I caught sight of Eren and I instantly relaxed. I held up the harness and shook it several times. I was about to ask him to give me a hand with the damn thing, but the expression on his face stopped me from saying anything. He looked...off, like he wasn’t really here at all.

        “What’s wrong?” I chucked the harness on the floor before I stepped up to him and placed my hands on his arms. I stared up at him in concern.

        He didn’t look at me as he said, in a voice that was barely above a whisper, “It’s my mom.”

        Knowing how touchy this subject was for him, I led him toward the couch and gestured for him to sit down. When we were both seated, his hand secure in mine, I asked, “What’s going on with your mom?”

        No matter how many times I tried to make eye contact, he wouldn’t meet my gaze. This was a part of himself he kept buried deep, because his mother made him feel useless. Worthless. Whenever she was mentioned, he would get this way.

        “I just got off the phone with Iz,” he started, swallowing convulsively before he forced himself to continue. “My mom’s in the hospital. She overdosed.” Now he looked at me, with eyes filled with sorrow. “They think it was intentional.”

        I didn’t know how to respond to something like that. What could I possibly say to erase that look of anguish on his face? To make him smile, even for a brief moment?

        “Eren...”

        “I need to go see her,” he said.

        “Do you want me to go with you?”

        He shook his head. “No. I think this is something I have to do alone with Iz. We’ve been putting it off long enough. It’s time we face her.”

        I wrapped my arms around him. He slumped against me, fragile and child-like. “If you need me to come to the hospital at any time, all you have to do is call. I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

        “I know,” he whispered.

        “When are you heading out?”

        “In a little while. Isabel’s already on her way over here.”

        It pained me that he didn’t want me to go with him. I understood why he needed to do this alone, but I also wanted to support him throughout this all. I just hoped he wouldn’t let this take a toll on him. He wasn’t at fault for what was happening with his mother. He never had been.

        “Let me put on a shirt,” I said. “I’ll walk you out.”

        After I slipped into a white T-shirt, we made our way out to the parking lot, where Izzy was already waiting. Through the front windshield of her car, I could see that she wore the same hopeless expression as Eren did. Both of them were unprepared for what was about to happen, but I was glad they had each other to lean on. For once, they were in this together.

        “Call me when you get home from work,” Eren said as he pulled open the passenger door of Isabel’s Honda Civic. “I don’t think this will take that long, but in case it does, I want to make sure you got home safely.”

        “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

        “I always worry about you.” He took my face in his hands and kissed me. Then he got into the car, and I watched Isabel drive away until her car disappeared from view.

        For some reason, I desperately wanted him to come back.

 

\---

 

I couldn’t concentrate on work. My mind was a million miles away, with Eren, thinking about how he was doing. So I was glad when I noticed my shift was almost over. I was anxious to call him to see how everything was going with his mother. I wasn’t the only one on edge. Both Armin and Mikasa were glued to their phones, and had been for the past several hours, but he hadn’t contacted anyone. It was starting to worry me.

        Was he okay? What if something was wrong?

        It felt like a small eternity had passed by the time my set in the cage was done, and it was lowered to the stage. The second it met solid ground, I threw open the door, more than ready to head to my dressing room. If it weren’t for Jean stopping me midstride, I would’ve thrown myself into the crowd without a second thought on the matter.

        “Have you lost your mind?” Jean snapped while keeping a firm hold on my arm.

        “What?” I was genuinely confused about his reaction. Couldn’t he see that I was in a hurry? He was holding me up.

        He sighed. “You can’t just go waltzing into the crowd like that. Not without security. I know you’re worried about Eren, but if you keep this up, you’re going to give _him_ something else to worry about, and that’s the last thing he needs right now. Never forget that there are people here who would jump at the chance to get their hands on you. What do you think they’ll do if they spot you walking around the club unguarded? You’ll practically be giving them the opportunity to fulfill their sick fantasies.”

        Shit. He was right. I was being reckless.

        “I’m sorry,” I said.

        Releasing his hold on me, he gestured to Ymir to clear a path for us. “You don’t have to apologize.”

        “Yes, I do. Now is not the time for me to be losing my head. I’m just really worried about him.”

        “We all are,” Jean said as he walked to the edge of the stage. Once Ymir had an area cleared for us, he hopped down into the mass of people and gave me the OK to do the same. Even with him present, people pressed in on me right away. I didn’t even want to imagine how they would’ve reacted if I’d come down here alone. I was grateful that Jean had prevented me from doing something stupid.

        Wading through the people, the air reeking of both booze and body odor, I fixed my gaze on the black door ahead of us. As we pushed our way through everyone who refused to move, Jean kept his arm out in front of him at all times. It was a warning. If anyone decided to get close enough to breach the space he’d created for me, he would use force against them. Every regular already knew that. Those that were new learned fast enough.

        When we finally made it passed the sea of people on the dance floor, Jean unlocked the back door and we stepped into the corridor. It was a relief to be away from all those people. Right now I felt claustrophobic. I didn’t want to deal with strangers.

        “You should be good from here,” Jean said. That’s when I remembered something.

        “Shit,” I muttered. “I left my phone with Mikasa. I wanted her to have it just in case Eren called while I was up in the cage.”

        “I’ll go get it while you change. Once the club is closed up for the night, all of us will head over to the hospital together.”

        “Okay. Thank you.”

        As soon as I was alone, I rushed to my dressing room in long strides. To say I was worried would be the understatement of the year. It was unlike Eren to ignore everyone’s calls for this long. Something must’ve happened, although I hoped my intuition was wrong. I hoped there was a sensible explanation for him not picking up his phone.

        I hoped I was overreacting.

        While I was undoing the harness in quick jerks, someone knocked on the door. It didn’t even occur to me that Jean had only left a few minutes ago, that he couldn’t possibly be back this soon. That bit of information only dawned on me after I opened the door, and by then, it was too late.

        A large hand clapped over my mouth. My eyes shot open in surprise as someone forced me up against the door.

        Reiner leaned in close and kissed the hand he had pressed against my lips. “I’ve missed you,” he said. His breath smelt of alcohol. His eyes were bloodshot. He was drunk.

        The initial shock of seeing him had worn off. I struggled against his hold on me, but couldn’t manage to loosen his grip. He kept me in place with ease, and any sound that left my mouth came out muffled, useless. All the training I’d done with Eren spun around in my head. I tried to pull up anything that would help me in this position, but I couldn’t think of a single thing. I was panicking.  

        “No, you’re not getting away from me this time,” Reiner cooed in that same voice he’d given me the night we’d met. “We’re going to leave here together, you and me. And Eren won’t stop me. No one will stop me. You’ll be all mine.” He licked the shell of my ear. I cringed. “I went through a lot of trouble to get in here tonight, Levi. I did it all for you.”

        I screamed against his palm, saliva smearing his skin, but it had no effect on him.

        _Please. Please. Please. Please._

_Someone help me._

Reiner spun me around. The second his hand was off my mouth, I yelled, but it was cut off as he slid something in between my teeth. It was some sort of cloth, and he was tying it around my head faster than I could react. I had no time to do anything before he was taping my wrists together.

        “We have to go,” he said. He sounded excited. “My car’s parked in the back alley. Lucky there’s a backdoor. It’s how I got in here.”

        I began to cry, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Any minute now, Jean would burst through the door. He would put a stop to this.

        But he didn’t.

        Reiner led me out of the club with no trouble at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Needless to say, next chapter will be full of tension and drama. I'd once again like to remind you all that there will be no non-con in this. Although I should warn you guys that there will be some violence coming (mainly from Eren).
> 
> But, thank you for reading??


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have officially updated the number of chapters in this fic. I always get really weird when I know I'll be ending a fanfiction soon. It's a mixture of excitement, relief, and sadness. But I am happy that I've managed to complete yet another ereri fic. Bless.

Reiner appeared at ease as he drove out of Club Rose’s parking lot in a white van. Not at all like he was in the middle of kidnapping someone, which made my stomach plummet. If he was this calm while he had me tied up in his backseat, then how would he act behind closed doors? It was apparent that he didn’t feel guilty about what he was doing, so I didn’t want to find out what he had planned for me back at whatever place he was driving to now. I had to find a way to get loose. If I could somehow do that, I would have a fighting chance at escaping.

        From where I lay in the back of the van, I could make Reiner out clearly in the driver’s seat. He had a small, mischievous grin on his face as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the song playing on the radio. There wasn’t a hint of regret in his eyes. Not a single sign of remorse. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Probably thinking of all the things he was going to do to me. The thought of him putting his hands on any part of my body made my stomach squirm in disgust. I wouldn’t let it happen. I’d fight with everything I had, because the other option was to have something taken from me. Something I wasn’t willing to give up to him.

        “That’s a nice expression,” Reiner cooed, looking at me in the rearview mirror. “What could you be thinking about to make you look like that?”

        I bit down on the cloth in my mouth, baring my teeth at him. That was the only answer I could give him, so that was the only answer he got. He didn’t seem to mind. The grin had turned into a smile.

        “You’ll learn to like me soon enough. I’ll be the only company you have for a while.”

        That comment only served to make me retch. All the anxiety building up to an uncontrollable level. I dry heaved and the cloth he’d stuffed into my mouth slid under my tongue. For a moment, I was sure I would vomit, but then the urge passed almost as soon as it had come. I was thankful for that. Adding bile to the mix wouldn’t help with anything.

        Still, my stomach wouldn’t settle down. I felt sick. Sicker than I’d ever felt before.

        This was a nightmare.

        “Don’t get yourself all worked up,” Reiner said. From what I could see, it looked like he was turning onto the freeway. Where was he taking me? “The place I have picked out for us isn’t too far from here. We’ll be there soon.”

        _No. I have to get loose before then._  

        I squirmed onto my back, which caused my arms to scream out in agony. They were tied in a way that forced my shoulders back at an odd angle. I tried not to focus on the pain that erupted between my shoulder blades whenever I moved. Instead I concentrated on rubbing my wrists together in hopes of loosening the duct tape that held them together. After a while, I realized it wasn’t going to work. The tape wouldn’t slacken. All I’d managed to achieve from this was to scrub my skin raw.

        Reiner sighed. “Stop struggling. You’re just going to hurt yourself.”

        Ignoring him, I squeezed my eyes shut. It was painfully obvious there was nothing I could do to get myself out of this situation. I was stuck here in this van that smelt of standing water. I was stuck here with a man that looked like he’d just won the lottery. Me being the prize.

        All I could do now was wait for help.

        But would it ever come?

 

\---

 

_ Eren’s POV _

 

Visiting hours had ended some time ago, but I still found myself sitting in the waiting room at the hospital. Isabel sat beside me, her hands clasped tight in her lap. We hadn’t spoken to each other since we’d left our mother’s hospital room. There wasn’t anything to say. From what the doctor told us, our mother wouldn’t make it through the night. The drug she overdosed on caused her to have a severe heart attack. So we sat here festering in our thoughts.

        It had been seven years since I’d walked out of my mother’s life due to her addiction. I never wanted to look back. The only person I’d fought to keep back then was Isabel. Yet I had lost her too. I was barely getting her back now, after years of being estranged, and I didn’t want this event to pull us apart again. I didn’t want this to cause old wounds to reopen. I wanted to keep my sister.

        Leaning forward, I placed my elbows on my knees and dropped my head in my hands. I had turned off my cell phone when I’d first arrived here. How long ago was that? A few hours? More than that? If I didn’t call Levi soon, he would worry. I’d also told him to call me when he got back home from work. He couldn’t do that if my phone was off.

        “I’m going to step outside real fast,” I said, standing up. My voice sounded too loud in the otherwise silent room. “Levi’s probably chewing his nails off by now.”

        Iz stared up at me with red rimmed eyes. “I’ll come with you. I don’t want to be in here anymore.”

        We walked out of the waiting room together, following a wide hallway until the double sliding doors that led out to the parking lot came into view. When we crossed them, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and turned it on. It took a minute to reboot, then it started vibrating in my hand. The vibrating didn’t stop anytime soon. The screen kept lighting up with missed calls notifications. There were also numerous text messages pouring in every few seconds.

        What in the hell was going on?

        Pushing the contacts icon, I clicked on Mikasa’s name and held the phone to my ear. She answered almost right away.

        “Eren,” she said. She didn’t sound like her usual composed self. She sounded anxious. “I need you to come back to the club. Now.”

        “What’s going on? I have about twenty missed calls from Armin alone.”

        Silence. Then she murmured, “Levi’s missing. He went to his dressing room after he was through in the cage and that’s when he was taken. Someone broke the handle off the backdoor. I don’t know what they used, but that’s how they got in here. I’m so sorry, Eren. I should’ve upped his security, but we were all so worried about you...” She broke off and I didn’t even know what to say, or how to speak, for that matter. “I’m sorry.”

        Someone broke in the club and took Levi? Is that what she was trying to tell me?

        It had to be Reiner. He was the only person I could think of that would go this far. And he actually got away with it? No one stopped him before he left with Levi? I was going to kill him in the most brutal way possible. I should have done it the moment Levi told me about the “gift” Reiner had given him. Now it was too late, but I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

        “Eren?” Mikasa said. “Are you still there?”       

        Words gushed out of me, angry and unrestrained. “How the fuck did this happen? Why was Levi alone in the first place? I thought I made it clear that someone had to be with him at _all_ times. Now you’re telling me that someone managed to get into the club and take him? That falls on you, Mikasa! He’s your employee!”

        “I know he is. I was just—I don’t know how this happened.”

        “You know who it was, don’t you? It was Reiner. You guys stopped me from going after him the first time, but that won’t happen again. I’m going to find him, and when I do, he’s dead. Do you hear me?”

        Isabel stepped up to me and gave me a questioning look. I ignored it.

        “We’ve already called the police,” Mikasa told me in a rush, no doubt hoping I would change my mind. I wouldn’t. “They’ll take care of this. Please don’t do anything rash. Just come back to the club for now.”

        “Sure they’ll take care of it. Let’s be real here. Levi’s just another name on their list. And if you think I’m going to let him spend another minute with that bastard, you’re wrong. I’m going after him.”

        “But you don’t know where he is.”

        “I’ll find him. Trust me on that.” I hung up on her and turned to Iz, who was still staring at me. “I have to go.”

        “Why? What happened? You said something about Levi being taken.”

        “Someone broke into the club and now Levi’s missing. I know it was Reiner, and I’m going to make him regret ever setting foot in Club Rose again.”

        She reached out and grabbed my hand, keeping me in place. “What are you planning to do?”

        “Go after him,” I said, impatient.

        “But you could get hurt.”

        “That’s the least of my worries right now.” I flipped my hand over so that it was palm up. “I need your keys. Call Armin and have him come pick you up. But stay inside until he gets here. Understood?”

        She glanced down at my open hand. “This is insane. You can’t just go after Reiner by yourself. If he did kidnap Levi, then that shows what he’s capable of. He could kill you without batting an eye, Eren. Is that what you want?”

        It took everything I had not to take the keys by force. There was no time to be discussing this. Levi was somewhere out there, alone and scared, and she actually thought I cared about what happened to me?

“Listen,” I said as I placed my hands on Isabel’s shoulders to gain her full attention, “one way or another, I’m going after Levi. He’s the love of my life. Do you understand that? I can’t just sit back and do nothing while he’s out there. So you either give me your keys, or I break into one of these cars.”

        “You wouldn’t.”

        I hitched an eyebrow. “Want to bet on that?”

        “Shit,” she hissed. She dug her hand into her pocket and produced her keychain. She slammed it into my awaiting hand. “Keep your phone on you at all times. If you find Reiner, at least call the police before you do anything. Don’t confront him alone. As much as you want to help Levi, you could cause more problems by showing up. For all you know, Reiner could hurt him in order to get you to cooperate. You have to remember this guy isn’t stable.”

        I knew she was right, but if I found that lunatic, I wouldn’t wait for police to arrive. Every second was crucial now. Which was why I needed to get a move on.

        As I took several steps back, I said, “Call Armin.”

        “Eren.” Isabel reached out, as though to stop me, but then she dropped her hand. Her eyebrows pinched together in worry. “Please be careful, and if you find Levi... Bring him back.”

        “I will.”

        I wouldn’t come back without him.

        I hurried over to Isabel’s parked car and yanked open the driver’s side door. I climbed inside and wasted no time in stuffing the key into the ignition. Then I peeled out of the parking lot. As I turned onto the main street, I realized I didn’t have the faintest clue where Reiner was holed up these days. Since Levi and I filed a restraining order against him, he’d disappeared off the grid. Or at least that’s what he’d wanted us to believe. In truth, he had been lying low, waiting for his chance to snag Levi.

        That bastard. I would make him pay for this.

        Stopped at a red light, I fished out my phone again. This time I called Connie. He was the one member of my fight club that befriended Reiner. If anyone knew where Reiner was, it was him.

        “Eren, my man,” Connie said when he answered the phone. “What’s up?”

        “When’s the last time you spoke to Reiner?”

        “Huh? Does this have anything to do with what happened with Levi a few weeks ago? Man, I know you hate him, but he’s trying his best—”

        I slammed my free hand down on the steering wheel. “Levi was kidnapped tonight. You and I both know who’s behind this. So tell me when’s the last time Reiner contacted you.”

        “Oh, shit. Are you serious? Fuck.” He blew out a shaky breath. “I talked to him earlier today. He said he would be missing work for the next week. It did unsettle me a bit that he dropped this on me at the last second, because he just started working at the plant, and I had to pull a lot of strings to get him a job there. But I didn’t think it had anything to do with Levi.”

        I pulled into a supermarket’s parking lot, steering the car into an empty space near the front entrance. There was no point in driving around until I knew where I was going. “Do you have any idea where he could be?”

        “He just moved out of his apartment a couple weeks ago. Said he found a place a little ways out of the city for a good price. The thing is, he never told me where it is. He also denied any help in moving his stuff over there. That struck me as strange, because why would he prefer to do all that work by himself when he had a friend who was willing to help him?”

        I punched the steering wheel again, too angry to stop myself. My knuckles were now a nice shade of red. “Could you find out his current address?” I asked.

        “I could ask my employer for it. He knows Reiner and I are— _were_ —friends.”

        “You do that, and then call me back straight away.”

        “Okay. I’ll give him a call right now.”

        I ended the call and tossed my phone onto the passenger seat. Where was Levi right now? Was he in any type of pain? What could Reiner be doing to him as I sat here in this parking lot? God, I felt so useless, and I’d let down the one person who meant the world to me.

        I’d get Levi back. I would.

        Twenty minutes passed before my phone rang again. I snatched it up and answered the incoming call without checking who it was.

        “Did you find out his address?” I said into the receiver, even when I wasn’t sure it was Connie on the other end.

        “Yeah. It wasn’t as hard as I’d thought it would be.” It was Connie. I let out a sigh of relief. “Reiner lives out on Crispin Road, right outside the city, like he told me. I’ll text you the address here in a minute.” The line went silent for a moment, and then Connie went on to say, “Eren, have you called the cops yet?”

        “Mikasa has.”

        “Then why are you taking matters into your own hands? I know how much Levi means to you, but Reiner—He’s always hated you. He hated how you always won in matches against him. He hated how you ended up with Levi instead of him. He just hates you, and although I don’t think he would seriously hurt you if you confronted him, I also didn’t think he would do something like this.”

        I stared out the front windshield at people filing in and out of the supermarket. No one seemed to understand that I didn’t care about my well-being when it came to this. Levi had done nothing to deserve being taken from his place of work. And he definitely didn’t deserve what was happening to him right now. If I got injured in the process of getting him away from Reiner, then so be it. I was more than willing to take that risk.

        “Just text me the address, Con,” I said, gripping my phone to the point that I feared I would break it.

        “There’s no talking you out of this?”

        “Not a chance of it.”

        “Then I’m coming with you. If you want the address, then come pick me up. I know how to talk Reiner down. You don’t. In fact, just the sight of you gets him pissed off.”

        Goddamnit. Why did Connie want to get himself involved in something like this? He knew I could take care of myself. We’ve been friends long enough for him to know my background.

        “Connie—”

        He cut me off with, “I’ll be waiting,” and then he hung up on me. I had to stifle the urge to throw my phone through the window.

        Why was everyone more concerned for me than they were for Levi, who didn’t have anyone right now?

        “Fuck,” I muttered as I backed out of the parking space at a dangerous speed. Luckily Connie’s house wasn’t far from here. If I didn’t stick to the speed limit, which I never did to begin with, I could make it there in fifteen minutes’ tops. It was fifteen minutes I didn’t want to spare, but what else could I do? I knew Connie wouldn’t text me Reiner’s address now. He would sit at his house and wait for me the entire night, if he had to. “Fuck,” I repeated.

        I maneuvered through the familiar streets, not even seeing them. My mind was set to overdrive with thoughts that made me angrier by the second. If Reiner forced himself onto Levi, I would not hesitate to castrate him. I might just do that for good measure. He’d crossed a line tonight. Hell, he crossed it when he decided to stalk Levi.

        I should’ve taken care of him back then, and put a stop to this before it even began.

        My hands tightened around the steering wheel and it amazed me that it didn’t snap beneath my palms with how hard I gripped it. The anger rolling through me was dangerous, but I fed off of it. I warped it until it worked in my favor, because once this rage faded, I would become useless. I would be wracked with guilt, dejection, desperation, and worry. I wanted to find Levi before then. I wanted him back at home, safe and sound in my arms. I wanted this to be over.

        I’d almost made it to Connie’s house when my phone rang again. I plucked it from the passenger seat and pressed it my ear. “What?” I said.

        “I’m on my way over to meet you at Connie’s place.” It was Armin, sounding peeved. “And before you ask, Isabel is back at the hospital with Mikasa. Jean is with me, and we’re going with you on this crazy quest of yours, because right now you’re not thinking straight. You need us.”

        “How did you find out I was going to Connie’s?”

        Armin scoffed. “Please. Who do you think you’re talking to? You can’t hide anything from me.”

        “And you can’t stop me from doing this.”

        “I know that. Why do you think I’m hauling ass right now? I want to be behind you every step of the way.”

        Suddenly, the seriousness of this situation hit me. Reiner had gone off the deep end. He was capable of anything now. I didn’t want to involve anyone else in this. I needed to do this alone.

        “You and Jean should go home,” I said.

        “We’re not going home, Eren. Jean feels guilty about leaving Levi alone. We all do. So don’t try to talk us out of this. We’re coming with you whether you like it or not.”

        I kept the phone pressed to my ear, but didn’t speak. I turned onto Connie’s street in silence and pulled up in front of his house. Then I let my head fall against the steering wheel. As I sat there in Isabel’s car, I remembered Levi sitting at his mother’s dining table when we ate dinner at her house a few weeks ago, laughing as she retold stories of his childhood. He’d looked so happy. So carefree. And I’d been so grateful that I had found him. That he had chosen me. Loved me.

        “Eren?” Armin said, wary.

        “I need to find him. You don’t understand. I...” I choked on a sob. My body began to shake as tears streamed down my face.

        Fuck. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be.

        “We’re going to find him, Eren,” Armin said. “We won’t stop until we do.”

        “What if he’s hurt? What if Reiner did something to him?”

        “Then we’ll make him pay for it.”

        Even if we did hurt Reiner, that wouldn’t erase what he’d done. Levi would be emotionally damaged for the rest of his life. Forever altered.

        “Are you almost here?” I asked, eager to be back on the road. The anger I’d felt moments ago had returned.

        “Yeah, I’m right around the corner.”

        “Good. When you get here, get into Isabel’s car.” I hung up and pushed open the door, a cool breeze sweeping past me. I was about to step out of the car when the front door of Connie’s house swung open wide. He came rushing out with a black duffel bag in hand. “What’s in the bag?” I asked when he pulled open the backdoor.

        He didn’t answer me right away. He tossed the bag inside, then he said, “A gun.”

        “You packed a whole bag just to conceal a gun?”

        “Um, yeah. If Sasha saw it, she would have freaked.”

        “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

        He sank into the passenger seat. “Uh huh. We went over this already. I’m going with you. I’m just really hoping we don’t have to use that gun.”

        “That depends on Reiner.”

        We sat there for a few minutes before Armin pulled up behind us. The second he parked, Jean and him were out of the car. They slid into the backseat of Isabel’s car without a word.

         When everyone was settled, I said, “Lead the way, Connie.”  


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me so long to update and I left on another cliffhanger. Although, if this were a book, it wouldn't really be a cliffhanger, because you could just flip the page to the next chapter.  
> I'm making excuses for myself. Forgive me.
> 
> Whispers, "At least there's only two chapters left. The suspense isn't that bad. Right? RiGhT?"

In the back of Reiner’s van, I fought against my restraints until my arms grew tired. I’d managed to loosen the tape around my wrists, but not enough to free my hands. In one final attempt to break loose, I yanked my wrists apart with all the strength I could muster. The tape snapped as it was stretched taut, but it didn’t give under the strain, and I was out of time. Reiner had pulled into a gravel lot a few minutes ago. What appeared to be an abandoned factory lay ahead of us like a shadowy prison. That’s where he was taking me. He had called it our new “home,” though it looked anything but.

        There was only one thing left for me to try. My last chance at freedom. When Reiner opened the back doors to get me out of the van, I would have to make a run for it. If I failed, I would be subjected to whatever he had planned for me here at this rotten factory.

        I couldn’t fail. I wouldn’t.

        “I know it doesn’t look like much from the outside,” Reiner said, parking on the side of the tattered brick building to conceal his van from view, “but I’ve spent the last couple of months cleaning it up. It looks a lot better on the inside. You’ll approve. I promise.”

        He’d been cleaning this place up for the last couple of months? Did that mean he’d been planning to kidnap me for that long? It shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did. Sooner or later, stalking would have led to this. I’d just been stupid enough to believe I had dodged the bullet when I filed a restraining order against him.

        After Reiner cut off the engine, he pushed open his door and stepped out. Loose gravel crunched beneath his boots as he turned around to head to the back of the van. Once he was out of sight, I quickly rolled toward the back and shifted so that my feet were poised in such a way that I could kick him the second he opened the doors. I waited. My heart was pounding fiercely in my chest. I only had one shot at this. If I didn’t strike him down on my first attempt, I was sure he wouldn’t give me the chance to do it again.

        _Come on..._

The distinct sound of the handle being lifted made my heart pound all the harder. I had to kick him with enough force to send him sprawling. That would give me just enough time to lunge out of the van. I could outrun him once I was on my feet.

The door swung open faster than I anticipated, but I reacted without thought and thrust my legs forward as hard as I could. Both my feet slammed against Reiner’s chest. He stumbled backwards from the impact, and I used this time to squirm into a sitting position. Then I jumped out of the van. The instant my feet hit the ground, I was running. There was no time to look back to see if he’d already recovered. There was no time to do anything but run.

        Wherever Reiner had taken me, it was out in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but open fields out here. I couldn’t spot a single house, which meant I would have to find a place to hide, and fast. At any moment, he could hop into the van and catch up to me.

        Although the odds were against me, and the chances of escaping were slim, I wouldn’t just give in. I would give Reiner hell every second he kept me out here. Even if he were one step behind me, I would run until my legs gave out.

        Surrendering wasn’t an option.

        I didn’t hear the van start up until I reached the road. I pushed myself to go faster then, even when my feet were throbbing in the tight confines of the leather boots I wore. Reiner had snatched me from my dressing room before I could change out of the outfit I’d performed in. The clothing was restricting, just as it was intended to be, but I didn’t let it slow me down. I wouldn’t let anything slow me down. Not now.  

        The squealing of tires made a cracked sob erupt from my throat. I couldn’t let him catch me again. There had to be a place I could hide. I just had to find it before he could reach me.

        As I scanned the area around me for anything I could use to cut myself loose, I heard a car door slam somewhere behind me. Was Reiner getting out of the van to chase me on foot now? Was he close enough to do that?

        I risked looking over my shoulder and that’s when his arm swung out and slammed me in the back. I lost my footing, but before I could tumble forward, he wrapped his arm around my waist to steady me. I immediately struggled against his hold.

        “That’s enough, Levi,” he said, sounding like a mother scolding their child. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

        I yelled, uncaring that the cloth in my mouth muffled the sound. I kicked and bucked, then suddenly his grip on my arm relaxed, but before I could even think to move away from him, his fist came hurtling toward the side of my head. I didn’t feel the blow at first. All I noticed was how the world around me twisted as I fell. Then my skull smacked the asphalt and everything went white before it went completely dark.

 

 

“Wake up.” Someone nudged my shoulder. “Come on.”

        Reiner’s voice roused me back to consciousness. I opened my eyes, squinting against the blinding light overhead. I was lying back on something lumpy, which could only mean I wasn’t on the road anymore.

        “My head,” I said, surprised that I could speak at all. He had removed the cloth from my mouth.

        “You left me with no other choice. You weren’t going to cooperate.”

        I raised my hand and touched the spot on my head he’d hit. Pain flared up as my fingertips brushed over a considerable bump. “Where am I?” 

        Now that my eyes had adjusted to the light, I saw Reiner standing beside me. He said, “You’re inside the factory. You’re safe now.”

        Safe? What kind of sick joke was that? I wasn’t safe with him.

        “What are you going to do to me?” I asked.

        “As of right now, I’m going to feed you. What did you think I was going to do?”

        I didn’t answer him. I remained silent as I glanced around the large room. From the looks of it, he had set up a small area on the main floor of the factory to be his living space. There were several old plaid couches set up around an outdated TV set. The thing I was lying on was in fact a worn futon. All in all, everything looked second hand, like he’d gone thrift shopping before bringing me here.

        “I’m not hungry,” I said. “Don’t bother trying to make me eat.”

        Reiner sat down next to me on the futon. I scrambled backwards, but I didn’t get far when I felt something tug on my ankle. Surprised, I lifted the blanket covering me and saw that my ankle had been shackled to a metal post located in the center of the room. I yanked on the chain. It rattled, but held fast.

        I gritted my teeth, furious. “You son of a bitch!”

        He reached out and slapped me faster than I could understand. While I sat there cradling my face in disbelief, he said, “I won’t stand for that type of behavior. You will learn how to respect me. Now”—he reached to the side and picked up a bowl brimming with cream soup—“you’re going to eat this. I don’t want any hassles, so do yourself a favor and just eat.” He brought a spoonful of soup to my mouth. I saw chunks of chicken swimming in the thick liquid. The sight of it made my stomach turn.

        “I can’t eat that.”

        “You will eat this. I’m not going to give you a choice in the matter.”

        “But there’s chicken in it,” I said. “I’m vegan.”

        He scoffed. “I know that, but I’m not about to sit here and make special meals just for you. There’s nothing wrong with this soup. Now open your mouth.”

        Both my face and back hurt where he had hit them. The lump on my head was far too painful to ignore, as well. He’d caused all this damage in a matter of hours. How would I look like tomorrow?

        “Open,” Reiner demanded. I started to cry, feeling weak and defeated, but also enraged. “What now?” Irritated, he dropped the spoon into the bowl. Soup splattered over the side.

        I glared at him with all the hatred I felt. “You have to ask? You brought me here against my will. You’ve hurt me. And now you’re trying to force feed me food I would never eat of my own volition. I hate you, Reiner. You disgust me.”

        He set the bowl down on a makeshift bedside table he’d constructed out of a giant wooden spool. “Just remember that I tried to do this the easy way.” He snatched my jaw up in his big hand, squeezing it until I gasped in pain. It was then that he shoved the spoon into my mouth. I spluttered on the soup as it went down the wrong tube and scalded my throat. “Is this how you want to play it? Or are you going to smarten up and eat without giving me any trouble?”

        “Go...to hell,” I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “I won’t ever be your obedient dog.”

        “I see, but you have no problem being Eren’s lap dog.”

        “I’m not Eren’s lap dog. He would never treat me like this. He would never hurt me the way you have.”

        Reiner smiled. One side of his mouth crept up higher than the other side, giving him a manic look. “I’m only hurting you because you won’t listen. When will you get that through your head?”

        “I shouldn’t have to listen to you. You already have me here. Isn’t that enough for you?”

        “You know what? Fine. Don’t eat.” He gathered up the bowl before he stood up. Then, without looking at me, he strode to the other side of the room, kicking the metal post in the process. I was just relieved to be alone for a while. Although the thought of sleeping here made my skin crawl, I couldn’t fight the fatigue threatening to pull me under for much longer. My entire body ached.

        Grabbing hold of the blanket I’d tossed aside earlier, I laid back on the lumpy futon and curled up in a fetal position. Tears welled up in my eyes. I’d never felt more alone in my life. All I wanted was to be at home with Eren and Snickers. But I knew I wouldn’t be going home tonight.

        Would I ever go home again?

 

\---

 

_ Eren’s POV _

 

Reiner’s apartment turned out to be a dead end. No one was there. I even took it upon myself to kick down the front door, which resulted in his neighbor rushing out to tell me she was about to call the police on us for breaking and entering. Thanks to Armin, who bribed her with three hundred dollars he had earned in tips, that never happened. The lady went back into her apartment as though she hadn’t seen or heard a thing. This left us in the clear to raid Reiner’s apartment for any clues that would help us find him.

        While the others searched the bedrooms, I went straight to the kitchen. If Reiner wasn’t here that meant he had to have rented out another place. I was hoping he’d received some mail about it, like a bank statement.

        There was a stack of unopened mail on the counter near the backdoor. I picked it up and skimmed through it, but found nothing of importance.

        “Fuck,” I muttered. This was another dead end.

        Connie came into the kitchen a few minutes later to find me digging through drawers with enough force to knock various things onto the floor. He wouldn’t look at me straight on. He was feeling guilty about ever having been friends with someone who would do something like this. “Any luck?”

        “No. And if I don’t find something to work with soon, I’m going on a man hunt. I don’t care how long it takes, I won’t stop until Levi is safe at home.”

        “Eren, I’m sorry it’s come down to this. I really am. I never suspected Reiner would stoop this low. I kept giving him the benefit of the doubt and I shouldn’t have. I should’ve seen this coming from a mile away.”

        I sighed. I understood why he felt the need to tell me this, but I couldn’t concentrate on his apology. My mind could only focus on one thing and that was finding Levi. “It’s not your fault that you wanted to see something good in him. And he was different with you, less hostile. You befriended him without question, while the rest of us viewed him as an outcast.”

        What I failed to mention was how Reiner wanted to be an outcast. He never attempted to make any friends. Whenever he showed up at the warehouse for a match, he excluded himself from the rest of us until it was time to fight. That’s when he came alive, when his fists were flying, like he needed violence to feel anything at all. And he was a good fighter. He was a challenge to beat at first, but the more matches he lost to me, the sloppier his technique became. He took his losses personally.

        Maybe that’s what led him to this. Maybe that’s how his unhealthy obsession with Levi even began, because he knew how much Levi meant to me—how much it would hurt me to lose him.

        _Goddamn you, Reiner._   

        “Yeah, well, it’s not like he valued our friendship,” Connie said as he rummaged through a cabinet filled with plates. He looked both miserable and mad, the two emotions mixing on his face until they created an unreadable expression. “He wouldn’t have done this if he did.”

        I was thinking of how to respond to that when I spotted a crumpled receipt in one corner of the drawer I’d opened. I picked it up and smoothed it out as best I could. “I think I found something here,” I told him, noticing the date at the top. This was a receipt for something Reiner had bought just the day before.

        “What?”

        “He went shopping for couches yesterday and paid an extra forty dollars to have them delivered. I don’t think he had them delivered here.” The couches he had here were the same ones he had at his old apartment, which meant they weren’t new. Or, in this case, second hand.

        “A thrift shop? Where is it at?”

        “It’s right down the road,” I said, pocketing the receipt. “Go get Armin and Jean. We’re done here.”

        This could be another false lead pointing me in the wrong direction, but something in my gut told me it wasn’t. It felt like this was the break we’d been looking for, and right now, I was willing to take anything I could get.

        I didn’t wait around for Connie to round up Armin and Jean. I went outside. The sun was high in the sky now, illuminating the city and making everything warm. But there I stood, feeling so incredibly empty and cold, like someone had pulled me apart and forgot how to put me together again.

        “So, a thrift shop?” Jean asked as he stepped out to join me on the front lawn that belonged to everyone who resided in these apartments. I waited for him to go on, to pry me for more information, but he didn’t. He just stared at my face, then he said, “We’re going to find him, Eren. I don’t care if we have to go to every house, we’re finding him.”

        I nodded, but I kept thinking about all those flyers posted at my local supermarket. Tons of different faces under the same headline: “Have You Seen Me?” Some people went missing for years before they were found. Others weren’t found at all. And some turned up as lifeless bodies, found dumped out in the middle of nowhere, as though they hadn’t mattered at all. Like they didn’t have family and friends that would do anything to have them back.

        I couldn’t put Levi into a category. Love was such a simple word, and it could be used for so many different things. You could love your mother, your father, a family pet, a pair of shoes, a beverage, but the way I felt about Levi... I didn’t feel that way about anyone or anything else. Just him.

        “Do you think this is my fault?” I asked.

        Jean knocked me on the back of the head with his fist. “Don’t be stupid.”

        “I’m serious. Do you think Reiner’s hatred for me caused him to develop this love-sick obsession with Levi?”

        “Even if that were the case, how is that your fault? You didn’t do anything to provoke him. He has no excuse for doing this. There’s no one to blame but him.”

        I stuffed my hand into my pocket and pulled out my pack of cigarettes. How terrible addiction was. Even when you were getting over it, being put in a stressful situation called it right back to the surface, like an old friend that promised a few minutes of peace. And right now, I needed a few minutes of peace.

        After I lit the cigarette, I said, “I haven’t smoked a cigarette since Levi’s first performance.”

        “Then why are you starting back up now?” Jean plucked the cigarette from between my fingertips before I could bring it to my lips. He squashed it under the toe of his shoe. “We’re finding, Levi. You don’t need to be smelling of cigarette smoke when we do.”

        I laughed. It sounded twisted and off, nothing like my usual laugh. This was the laugh I’d adopted after I lost Isabel, the one I’d kept until Levi came along and gave me a reason to laugh for real again. “I don’t think I’ll ever be the same if we don’t find him.”

        “Don’t talk like that,” Jean said, twisting his foot as if smooshing the cigarette could somehow smoosh Reiner too. “We’re finding him. How many times do I have to say that?”

        Armin and Connie came out of the apartment then. Armin was on the phone, but soon he tucked it back into his pocket and said, “I found the thrift shop online and looked up the number. We passed it on the way here and I remembered the name, because it was horrible. I just got off the phone with the owner.”

        “And?” I asked.

        “And I pretended to be Reiner, of course. The man sounded old, so I figured he wouldn’t remember how Reiner sounded. I figured right. I got the address they delivered the couches to.”

        Without realizing I was moving, I reached out and grabbed Armin by the shoulders. I almost shook him, but I kept myself still. “Where?”

        “Get in the car. I’ll direct you.”

 

We ended up on the expressway. It wound out of the city until there was nothing but open land on either side of us. This made a lot more sense than Reiner’s apartment. This was out where no one would come looking, but it was also close enough to the city that Reiner could go back to work after a week passed. The thought of him planning this out to a T made me feel murderous. I really believed that if the others weren’t with me, I would kill him. I would have no problem doing it. Not after what he’d done.

        It was only too easy to imagine bringing his life to an end. All I needed was the chance to do it.

        “According to the GPS on my phone,” Armin said as he glanced down at the screen, snapping me out of my thoughts, “we should be there within ten minutes.” He lifted his head to look around and his eyes went wide. “Wait. Hold on. Pull over. I think I saw something.”

        I eased my foot down on the brakes. Armin was out of the car as soon as it stopped. He ran up ahead on the side of the road, then bent over to pick something up in the tall grass. When he straightened, I saw what he was holding and my throat constricted until I couldn’t breathe. It was one of Levi’s boots, the ones he was wearing as he walked me out of the club yesterday.

        “Get back in the car!” I shouted, my arms shaking as I gripped the steering wheel. Armin hurried back to the car and flung himself inside. Then, with a hiss of tires against the road, I drove off, letting this anger coursing through my veins consume me.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter left after this! AH!

_ Eren’s POV _

 

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this angry. The emotion rolled through me like acid and dissolved everything in its path until there was nothing else left. I didn’t do anything to stop it. I yearned for it to take over, because when I got my hands on Reiner, I wanted to burn our reunion into his memory. I’d show him that he made the wrong decision when he took Levi from the club. I’d make him wish he’d stayed as far away from us as possible. I would make him regret every single minute he’d spent planning this out, thinking he would get away with it.

        He was never going to get away with this. 

        “Up ahead, Eren. Do you see it?” Armin pointed out an enormous brick building in the distance. It took me a moment to focus my attention on it long enough to notice all the windows were shattered. That indicated it was no longer in use, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t occupied. It looked like the perfect hideaway for a criminal hoping to stay away from the public eye. Reiner could achieve total isolation out here. There weren’t any houses for miles. No one to see him come and go. “Do you think that’s where Reiner is holed up? It has to be, right?” Armin glanced at me over his shoulder. “There’s nothing else out here.”

        “That’s where he is,” I said. “I know it.”

        Without warning the others, I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal. The car pitched forward before the front end evened out. Then we were coasting toward the building at top speed.

        “What the fuck!” yelled Jean. He hit the back of the headrest several times. “Slow the hell down!”

        “No. I want Reiner to know we’re here.”

        Connie leaned in between the front seats. “What if he has a gun on him, Eren? Have you even thought of that? He can come out and shoot at us.” He grabbed my shoulder. “I have a wife waiting for me at home.”

        “I didn’t ask you to come!” I gritted my teeth, pissed that they were interfering with my plans. I wanted to crash the car straight through the front door. Slowing down wouldn’t achieve that, but I also couldn’t let my friends get hurt because of this rage flowing through me. “Fucking hell.” I let up on the gas pedal.

        “Thank you,” Connie said when we dropped down to a safe speed. “Levi wouldn’t want you to get hurt, either. You know that.”

        The sound of Levi’s name provoked other emotions other than anger to surface. One stood out above the rest. Fear. What would I find waiting for me in there? What would I do if Reiner had already done irreversible damage to him?

        God, I just wanted Levi safe. That’s all I cared about right now. Nothing else mattered.

        “Well,” Jean said, sitting up, “it’s hard to make a quiet entrance when there’s fucking gravel everywhere.”

        Armin tapped the steering wheel. “Park here. We’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot.”

        “No.” I turned into the parking lot. Gravel popped beneath the tires. “I want the car close, just in case we have to make a quick exit.”

        “Let me guess,” Armin almost growled, “you want someone to stay with the car?”

        “Yes.”

        “I swear if you ask me to stay...”

        I sighed. “Armin, please.”

        “Why me? I’m not the only other person here.”

        “You’re staying,” Jean said. “If you go in there, I’ll be all types of distracted, and we can’t afford that. Okay? So you’re staying here. Don’t argue with me on this.”

        Armin huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You two teaming up on me is not even fair. Don’t think that I’ll forget about this. When this is over, I’m going to twist your dicks into pretzel shaped disasters. Mark my words.”

        Connie laughed, but quickly cut himself off by slapping his hand over his mouth. “Sorry. I’m sorry. That was inappropriate. Now is not the time to be laughing.”

        I ignored them in favor of keeping my eyes glued to the front door. I expected it to burst open at any second, but it remained closed even after I parked up front. Reiner couldn’t have missed the telltale sound of the car pulling in. There was no doubt about that in my mind. So what was he doing right now? Preparing for us to come inside? Moving Levi to a more secure location in this massive building? I couldn’t waste any more time sitting here. I had to get inside. Jean and Connie could catch up to me if they wanted to tag along, because I wasn’t waiting around for them. Every second was critical.

        After I stepped out of the car, I hurried to the front entrance of the building. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins at this point, making everything sharp. Yet all I could focus on was getting Levi out of there as fast as I could. It didn’t matter what I met along the way. Nothing would stop me.

        _Here we go._

I pulled the front door open and walked inside, staying alert of my surroundings. The first thing that hit me was the smell. It smelled of ammonia and vinegar in here, like someone had scrubbed the entire place down with the fiercest cleaners they could find on the market. Was this Reiner’s doing? Did he think sprucing up this pigsty would warm Levi up to him? Fuck. I really was going to kill this guy the instant I saw him. I couldn’t imagine leaving him alive after all this.        

        “Oh, fuck,” Jean hissed under his breath as he came to stand beside me. “It smells like a skunk’s asshole in here.”

        I eyed him. “Shut up. Where’s Connie?”

        “Right here,” Connie said, stepping inside behind Jean. He already had the collar of his shirt pulled over his nose. In his right hand he carried the gun he brought along with him in case of an emergency. I wasn’t sure he would be able to use it, even if the situation called for it. And asking him to hand it over was out of the question. I knew he wouldn’t trust me with it, because I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot Reiner down. That was a given.

        “Where do you think Reiner is?” Jean asked. “I thought he would be right here on the main floor.”

        “Seems like he’s a bit smarter than we thought he was,” I said. “Let’s head to the second floor.”

        After some searching, we uncovered a stairwell hidden behind a lining of large cardboard boxes. We moved them aside one by one—me more impatient than the others—then we climbed up a flight of stairs. When we reached the second floor, I stopped and listened for any sounds that didn’t belong here in an abandoned building. I heard nothing unusual. Was this a trick? Did Reiner predict that I’d come looking for him and set up a convincing trail of bread crumbs that would lead me directly into a trap? I wouldn’t put it passed him. I needed to approach this with caution, even when I wanted to surge forward like a walking tornado.

        “Give me that,” Jean whispered and nudged Connie’s arm with his elbow. He gestured to the gun. “We both know you won’t be able to shoot Reiner, even if he came at you with a knife.”

        “And you think I want you to shoot him?” Connie said.  

        Jean looked at him with a solemn expression I only ever saw before I did something stupid. “Listen, man, I don’t want to shoot the bastard for no reason. I won’t do anything to him if he cooperates. But if he doesn’t, I want to be prepared for the worst. Don’t you? This guy kidnapped someone and has them hostage in this building. Come on, Con. Open your eyes already. We’re dealing with someone dangerous here.”

        Connie didn’t relinquish the gun right away. He kept looking at it as if it would emit a bullet at any second. Then, with a scrunched up face, he handed it to Jean. “Just don’t shoot him unless he tries something.”

        “Yeah, I know.”

        Once everything was settled, I grabbed the doorknob and looked at them to see if they were ready. They both nodded, and I pushed the door open with enough force to send it flying. Jean rushed in ahead of us. He held the gun clumsily in both hands, but I had no doubt he would put a bullet in Reiner if he decided to attack us out of nowhere. That’s all that mattered to me.

        “Do you see anything?” I asked.

        “Nothing,” Jean said. “There’s no one here.”

        “Fuck. Let’s look around anyway.”

        There was nothing to find on the second floor. It was as empty as the first.

        I slammed my fist against the wall, not even feeling it. “Where the hell is he?”

        “Let’s try the third floor.” Connie pointed up at the ceiling. “He has to be in here somewhere and the only place to go is up.”

        As we climbed another flight of stairs, I tried to think the way Reiner would. Where could he be? It was obvious that he thought this through. Otherwise he wouldn’t have had a problem setting things up on the first floor. It was like he was doing everything he could to make us believe he wasn’t here. Or maybe he was stringing us along to bide himself some time.

        _I’ll find you, you fuck. I won’t stop until I do._

This time around, Jean shoved open the door at the end of the third floor landing and went in with the gun drawn. I was close behind him, so I didn’t need him to tell me that this room was bare, too. I could see that for myself.

        Jean put his hand on my shoulder when a soft choking sound spilled from my mouth. “There’s one more floor. He has to be there.”

        “But what if he’s not?”

        “He is.”

        I shut my eyes. I hadn’t even thought of the possibility that this could be an elaborate set up. When I saw this building, I fully expected to find Levi inside of it. But that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? Reiner wanted to stretch this out until I was desperate enough to beg.

        How could I have let him get his grimy hands on Levi? I shouldn’t have left the club to go to the hospital, no matter how dire the circumstances were. My mother wasn’t even conscious throughout my visit. She would never know that Iz and I were sitting at her bedside for hours on end, two lost kids that had grown up without her guidance. Did she even care about us at all? Had I let this happen for someone who preferred drugs over me? Someone who had put me on a path of destruction?

        “LEVI!” I shouted. My voice bounced off the walls and echoed back to me, sounding broken. I couldn’t lose him, not after everything we’d been through together. And we still weren’t finished. I wanted him for the rest of my life. What did I have to do to get him back? “Levi!”

        “Now is not the time,” I heard Jean say. At first I thought he was talking to me, but then he added, “Armin, I’m serious. Wait, what? Shit! Shit, ok. We’re going down there. Don’t even think about doing anything without us. Do you hear me?” He was already running toward the door as he stuffed his cell phone back into his front pocket. “Armin saw Reiner leave the building with Levi. He got into a van. We need to hurry if we want to catch him.”

        Everything that happened after that was a complete blur. I couldn’t even remember how I made it downstairs on legs that felt like rubber, but somehow I did without encountering any problems. Then I saw the white van speeding out of the parking lot and I stood there watching it, paralyzed. Levi was in that van. He was being taken from me for the second time today. I couldn’t allow this to happen. I had to do something while I still had the chance.

        With my mind made up, I ran to Isabel’s car and jerked the driver’s side door open. As I slid behind the wheel, already turning the key in the ignition to start up the engine, I realized I was alone. Armin must have slipped out when he saw Reiner earlier. I couldn’t even pretend to be upset by that. Although I knew why my friends came along as backup, this was something I had to do alone. I didn’t need them to hold me back. Especially not now.

        I reversed, gravel flying out from under the tires, and spun the wheel until the car faced the road. Then I shifted to drive and punched the gas. This time there was no one in the backseat to talk me out of it. I sailed forward at an impossible speed, barely making the turn onto the main road.

        _I’m coming, Reiner, you bastard. I’m not letting you get away from me._

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I didn’t have to check it to know it was Armin. If I picked up now, he would try to convince me to turn back around. So I ignored his call. There was no time to be cautious anymore. Reiner would get away if I didn’t act now.

        Isabel’s car wasn’t much for speed, but that didn’t stop me from hitting the gas until the speedometer needle hovered over eighty. At this rate it wouldn’t surprise me if I blew out a tire. But none of that mattered. As long as I caught up to Reiner, I didn’t care if the engine puttered out.

        “Come on,” I said, hitting the steering wheel with the heel of my palm. Reiner was just up ahead. It was like he slowed down to taunt me.

        When the front end of the Honda nearly clipped the back end of the van, I jerked the steering wheel to the left and forced the car to go faster. I was now beside the van. I rolled the passenger side window down.

        “Pull over!” I yelled.

        Reiner took his sweet time rolling his window down. He turned his head enough to let me see him smile. “Go ahead and run me off the road! But, if you do that, you’re also risking Levi’s life.” He shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

        “Goddamnit, Reiner! Pull over!”

        He laughed. “You think it’ll be that easy?”

        The next thing that happened caught us both off guard. Levi appeared beside Reiner. I could hardly make him out, but I noticed he was having a hard time pulling himself up between the seats. Were his hands tied behind his back?

        “Levi!” I shouted.

        Reiner tried to shove Levi back while still keeping hold of the wheel, but Levi managed to dodge his elbow. Then he surged up, like he’d finally caught his balance. He tumbled into the passenger seat. The second he righted himself, he drew his legs back toward his chest. When he pushed them forward, his feet collided with the side of Reiner’s face. I watched Reiner’s head smack the window with enough force to shatter the glass.

        They were going to crash.

        I screamed, “No!” as the van veered off to the left. I had to slow down in order to avoid getting hit. “No! Levi!”

        There was nothing I could do to prevent it from happening. The van skidded off the side of the road. I was afraid it would roll as it gained momentum, but Reiner must’ve still been conscious, because the brake lights flashed on and the van slowed. I pulled up behind it and was out of the car before it came to a complete stop. I ran to the passenger side, tugging the door open. Levi threw himself at me.

        “It’s okay now,” I said, untying the cloth from around his head. “I have you.”

        “No.” Reiner clutched the side of his head as he leaned back against the seat. “No. I won’t let you win. Not this time.”

        I drew Levi behind me. “It’s over, Reiner. Give up.”

        “No,” he repeated. He slouched forward and that’s when I saw the glint of a gun. He pointed it at me. “Put Levi back in the van.”

        I clenched my teeth and said, “No.”

        “I’ll shoot you, Eren. You know that I will.”

        “I know you will.”

        He laughed. “Playing hero doesn’t suit you. Why don’t you just give up already? You can’t save him.”

        “I’ll go,” Levi said. He grabbed my arm as he came around to stand beside me. His hand was trembling. “Don’t shoot him, Reiner. Please? I’ll go with you. Just don’t shoot him.”

        Reiner scowled. “You’re both pathetic.”

        “No, Levi.” I grabbed his hand before he could even think of moving.

        “It’s okay,” he said in a wobbly voice, even as he looked up at me with a tear stained face. “It’s okay.”

        “It’s not okay! None of this is okay! Levi... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

        Reiner cocked the gun. “That’s enough chitchat. Get in the van, Levi. Now.”

        I leaned forward and touched my forehead to Levi’s. Then I said, “Run.”

        I didn’t give myself time to think. I turned around and lunged inside the van. Even when the gun went off, and pain exploded in my shoulder, I kept going. I grabbed the front of Reiner’s shirt and pulled him toward me just to shove him right back against the door. His head snapped back.

        “I’ll fucking kill you!” I screamed. He fumbled with the door handle. The door swung open a moment later and both of us fell out of the van onto the dead grass below. I scrambled to get on top of him. Before he could even think about reaching for the gun that had landed in the footrest when I knocked it out of his hand, I punched him. Blood spewed out of his mouth.

        Reiner reached up and grabbed my injured shoulder. He dug his nails into the wound. I screamed out, but didn’t release my hold on him. “I won’t let you win, Eren!”

        “Eren!” Levi came running up to us. He didn’t stop to gather the situation. He kicked Reiner’s arm, right at the elbow. I heard bone snap.

        Reiner let out a bloodcurdling scream. But I couldn’t stop now. I wrapped my hands around his neck.

        “You should have given up when I told you to,” I growled, clenching my fingers. Reiner scratched at my hands as he struggled beneath me. “You should have left us alone.”

        I started to feel woozy. I was losing too much blood. But I had to finish this. I couldn’t let him get Levi again.

        “No,” I breathed. My grip slackened without my permission. “No. Not yet. Not yet.”

        It felt like I’d been plunged under water. Everything sounded muffled and my vision began to go dark around the edges.

        And then there was nothing.

 

\---

 

_ Levi’s POV _

 

“Armin, please, I’m fine. Really.” Although I’d reassured him of this countless times, he kept fussing at me whenever he got the chance to. Right now he was fluffing up the pillow behind my head with gentle pats, like he was afraid it would rupture if he applied too much pressure. The casualties of my time spent with Reiner were a set of bruised ribs and a swollen left cheek, but that was nothing in comparison to Eren, who’d been shot point blank in the shoulder. He’s the one that needed special attention. Not me.

        I couldn’t stand being in here while he was out there with a gunshot wound. So far I hadn’t been allowed to leave this damn hospital room to go and see him. What if he was in critical condition?

        I hated not knowing.

        “Are you sure?” Armin asked, stepping back to readjust the blanket over my bare feet. “You look pale.”

        “I’m just tired.”

        “You should rest for a while then. You’ve been through a lot today.”

        I shook my head. “I can’t rest until I know how Eren is doing. Why haven’t you told me anything? Is it that bad?” I swallowed, but the lump that had formed in my throat made it stick. This was all my fault. If I were stronger, I could have escaped from Reiner long before Eren showed up. But I wasn’t strong. I was weak and defenseless and now the one person I cared about the most could be somewhere in this hospital, dying.

        No. I couldn’t think that. He was fine.     

        Armin clenched his hands into fists. “The reason I haven’t told you anything is because I don’t know anything myself. Jean’s supposed to text me when he hears back from the doctor.”

        I dropped my head into my hands. It kept replaying in my mind, the way Eren threw himself into the van to protect me. And then the impossibly loud crack of the gun being fired, as though all the air around me had been fragmented by the sound. I’d thought the worst at first, but Eren never faltered in his attack. He kept on fighting, even as blood seeped from his wound at an alarming rate. It almost seemed like nothing would be able to stop him. Then he collapsed...

        “I can’t sit here anymore,” I said, throwing the blanket off. By the time Armin tried to persuade me into lying back again, I’d already flung my legs over the side of the bed. “Let’s go talk to the doctor ourselves.”

        “Levi, what makes you think the doctor will tell us anything if he hasn’t told Jean zilch?”

        I stood up. “I have to try.”

        “Levi—”

        “No! I have to try.” I looked at him. “If it were Jean, wouldn’t you try?”

        Armin opened his mouth, but he didn’t speak for a long while. Then, after several minutes of silence, he said, “Okay. We’ll try. Come on. Let’s get your shoes on.”

        Mikasa had brought an extra set of clothes to the hospital for me, along with a comfortable pair of tennis shoes. She’d been at Eren’s— _our_ —apartment watching Snickers while everyone else had been off searching for me.

        “How does your back feel?” Armin asked once I’d slipped the shoes on.

        “It’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”

        “You’re a liar, but since I love you, I’ll let you get away with this particular lie. At least for now.”

        We ambled out of the hospital room in search of Jean. We found him about fifteen minutes later, buying chips from a vending machine in one of the various nooks the hospital had. By the look on his face, I could tell he hadn’t heard anything back from Eren’s doctor. He looked like he wanted to crush the chips in his hand rather than eat them.

        “This is bullshit,” Armin said as we sat down in a rest area. “We should’ve heard something by now.”

        “You’re telling me.” Jean tore open the bag of chips, but left them untouched on his lap. “If they don’t tell us something soon, I’m going to break something.”

        Armin groaned. “No, don’t break anything. That’ll turn me on, and then I’ll feel awful about being turned on at a time like this.”

        “You’d probably get turned on if I bent over in front of you right now.”

        “Fuck you,” Armin said, plucking the bag of chips off his lap. “You’re a dick.”

        “Says the person who worships my dick.” Jean smirked.

        I glared at both of them. “Stop.”

        An older man in teal scrubs and a lab coat came around the corner with a clipboard in hand, silencing the lot of us with his presence. He glanced down at the paperwork for a brief moment before he returned his gaze to us. He said, “Are any of you relatives of Eren Jaeger?”

        Armin stood up. “Yes. We’re his family. Can you tell us how he’s doing?”

        The doctor explained that the bullet had traveled through Eren’s shoulder without hitting anything vital. That was a miracle in itself, although they did have to perform minor surgery to close the gaping wound, since he was shot at close range. But aside from that, Eren was now in recovery. He would need to stay in the hospital for a few days to make sure the wound was healing properly, but he was fine. He would pull through this.

        I felt weightless with relief.

        “Thank you,” Armin said as he sagged against Jean for support. “Can we see him?”

        The doctor nodded. “Of course, but one at a time, and I’m afraid you’ll only be able to stay for ten minutes or so. He needs to rest.”

        “Go on then.” Armin gave me a gentle shove. “You go first. You’re probably the only person Eren wants to see right now.”

        I followed the doctor without further prompting. He led me down a wide corridor that branched out to various hallways, but he kept going straight until he reached a lining of rooms. He stopped in front of room two hundred one.

        “Here we are.” The doctor pushed the door open for me. The room was dimly lit by an overhead bed light. “He won’t be too responsive due to the morphine, but don’t let that alarm you. He’s doing really well for someone who lost that much blood.”

        I grimaced at that, but said, “Thank you.”

        After he left, I walked into the hospital room that smelled of cheap soap and diseased flesh. I couldn’t look at Eren just yet, so I pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down. Then I reached out and took his hand in mine.

        “I’m sorry,” I said.

        “No,” he slurred.

        Startled, my eyes flew to his face. He looked like he was more asleep than awake. I couldn’t believe he was conscious after everything he’d been through. “Shh, don’t strain yourself.”

        “Reiner...”

        “He’s been arrested. Don’t worry. We’re okay. We’re fine.”

        He turned his head toward me. It seemed like it took a lot of effort. “Don’t go.”

        “I won’t,” I assured him. “I’m staying right here.”

        “I love you.”

        The smile I flashed him was shaky. I wanted to cry, but I knew that would only worry him, so I tried my best to keep it together. “I love you, too. You should sleep now. You need rest.” It didn’t take him long to drift off. When I was sure he was asleep, I stood up and kissed his forehead. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How classy of me to kick off this chapter with smut. In all seriousness, this is probably the last fic I'll write that includes so much smut, so I wanted to go out with a bang.  
> Forgive me. But I still hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter. It's been one hell of a ride.

_One year later, on Eren’s 27 th birthday_

There was only one acceptable way to wake up Eren on his birthday, and that was to pounce on him in nothing but a pair of over-the-knee lace up boots. When his eyes blinked open to see his very naked and very hard boyfriend straddling his lap, it took him less than five seconds to get with the program. He hurriedly put his hands on my waist to urge me up onto my knees. I smirked and gave my hips a little shake in response. That earned me a look that told me he was more than awake now.

        “How is it possible that you’re able to turn me on this fast?” he asked in a sleep-raspy voice. It was too irresistible. “I literally just woke up.”

        “If I couldn’t turn you on this fast, I wouldn’t make a very good present, now would I?” I pointed to the red ribbon tied around my neck. “Happy Birthday.”

        “Best birthday present ever.” He sat up and pressed an opened mouthed kiss to the side of my neck. Before he could take it a step further, I put my hand on his shoulder and pushed him back against the headboard. I didn’t give him time to question what I was doing. I slipped out the pair of leather handcuffs I’d tucked beneath my pillow and swung them around on my finger. He looked at them for a brief moment before he brought his eyes up to mine. “Going to use those on me?”

        I shook my head. “It’s your birthday, so you get to use them on me.”

        “Oh?” Eren raised an eyebrow, a crooked smile lighting up his face. “Then turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

        Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I did as he told me. He wrapped the handcuffs around my wrists, buckled them in place, and then ran his hand down over the curve of my ass until his fingers brushed along the anal plug I’d put in earlier. I expected him to comment on it, but all he did was ease it out with a pull of his fingers before pushing it back in, eliciting a shudder from me.

        “How long have you had this in?” he asked in a husky whisper while he kissed the dip of my lower back.

        “Twenty minutes or so.”

        “Is there anything else you’re hiding?”

        I glanced at him over my shoulder with a wicked glint in my eyes and said, “I may have a thing or two under my pillow. Why don’t you take a look and find out?”

        Eren tunneled his hand beneath the pillow without further encouragement. He pulled out an egg vibrator, a bottle of flavored lube, and a penis ring I’d stashed under there minutes before I had woken him up. He looked both amused and turned on by his findings, a reaction I could live with. “Who’s this going on?” he asked, picking up the penis ring to inspect it. It would be our first time using one, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited.

        “It’s up to you.” Although I hoped he would be the one wearing it.

        “Hmm,” he hummed in thought. Then he leaned back and slid off both his pajama bottoms and underwear. Fully unclothed, and sporting an erection that made me wiggle in anticipation, he rolled the ring into place. “I can last longer with this on, can’t I? And get harder?”

        I couldn’t even think properly, which made speaking downright impossible. I settled for nodding.

        He smacked my thigh with a salacious grin. “Lean forward.”

        Since my arms were indisposed, all I could do was bend down and press the side of my face into the bed. My ass was now in the air with my arms securely cuffed behind my back.

        “Well, don’t you make a delicious present.”

        “Eren, what are you waiting for?” I spread my legs further apart, impatient even on his birthday. How typical of me to turn into a furious ball of arousal that did nothing but demand sex, but I wasn’t thinking with my head any longer. All the blood—and logic—had gone rushing to one part of my body that needed his immediate attention. At this point I was willing to beg, or offer my soul up in some exotic ritual, _anything_ to get him to touch me.

        Eren knew me well enough to sense my impatience, but he didn’t rush to appease me, as he normally would. Instead he slipped the plug out from within me with irritable slowness and replaced it with his tongue with one unhurried flick.

        I let out a garbled sound that was too embarrassing to think about and pushed my hips back in hopes of deepening the contact, but he kept me in place by putting his hands on either side of my waist. “You bastard,” I groaned in defeat and desperation.

        He chuckled. “It’s my birthday. Shouldn’t I be able to do this how I want to?”

        “Yes,” I agreed reluctantly.

        He didn’t bother to say anymore. He went back to licking my entrance with slow, deliberate laps of his tongue, melting me on the spot. By the time he reached for the flavored lube he’d left beside my pillow, my thighs were quivering and my body temperature had risen at least ten degrees. I tried to concentrate on what he was doing, but the steady thumping in my cock distracted me from everything else. It was so hard I felt like I would come the instant he slid inside me.

        After I recovered enough sense to fix my gaze on him, Eren had already poured a dollop of lube on the egg vibrator. As I watched him, he spread the liquid over the small device.

        “Peach flavored, huh?” Eren said, amusement coloring his tone.

        I couldn’t take my eyes off his fingers. “Would you have preferred I bought mint flavored? Because that sounded gross to me.”

        “I’m not complaining about the peach.”

        Getting onto his knees, he pushed two fingers into me and spread them apart wide enough for him to coax the vibrator inside. I bit down on my lip as it rubbed along my walls, but soon all my efforts of keeping quiet were thrown straight out the window, because he turned the device on and it vibrated right against my prostate. I lurched off the bed.

        “Oh, fuck!” I practically screamed, my lower half collapsing onto the mattress when my legs decided they no longer wanted to hold me up.

        Eren kissed the base of my spine and worked his way up to the curve of my shoulder. He whispered into my ear, “I’m going to go get washed up. Try not to come until I get back.”

        “W-what?” I asked in confusion, but he was already scooting off the bed. “Eren, where are you going?”

        When he disappeared down the stairs, I lay there in disbelief for a fraction of a second before the insistent vibrating stripped my mind of thoughts. There was no way I would be able to stop myself from coming until he came back. I was already mindlessly grinding my hips against the bed as moan after moan was torn out of me. Sweat trickled down my back with the effort I put into swiveling my hips. Yet it wasn’t enough to push me over the edge. I was kept on the brink of orgasm.

        “Eren,” I moaned, shaking as the vibrator never ceased to torment me. I was still saying his name when he came back up. He found me right where he had left me, panting and sweating.

        “Had enough?”

        My answer to that idiotic question was, “If you don’t fuck me in the next five minutes, I’m going to ignore you for the rest of the day.”

        Eren smirked as he walked over to the bed. He scooped up the control and switched off the vibrator before pulling it out. As he set it down on the nightstand, I noticed he was harder than ever, the piercing I knew intimately glistening with pre-come. I wanted to bite it. Lick it. But I couldn’t move. I was limp from exertion. “How do you want me to fuck you? Like this?” He gestured to my position and tugged on the handcuffs. “Or do you want me to take these off so you can get your nails into me?”

        “Take them off,” I said.

        Instead of unbuckling the cuffs, he wrapped his arm around my stomach and eased me back until I was sitting. Then he slid his hands beneath my knees and spread my legs apart as he lifted me up.

        “Are you sure you want me to take them off?” He lowered me just enough for his piercing to brush across my entrance. I nearly convulsed from the sensation, my entire body hypersensitive. “I could take you like this.”

        I leaned my head back on his shoulder. “I don’t care if you uncuff me, just...” I wiggled my hips suggestively. “Please.”

        Despite having been unable to work out for six months after the incident with Reiner, it hadn't taken Eren long to get back his physique once his doctor gave him the okay to exercise. And now his arm muscles bulged deliciously as he lowered me down onto him until he was buried to the hilt. A drawn out moan parted my lips at the feel of him filling me, but it quickly turned into a strangled shout when he lifted me up just to slam me back down, throwing his hips up to meet me halfway.

        “Ah, _yes_ ,” I gasped, the nub of his piercing rubbing over that sensitive area inside me.

        “Feel good?”

        I nodded frantically, giving myself over to the jolts of pleasure that grew more intense with each thrust of his hips. My skin was burning hot, sticky with sweat, and when I looked down to gaze at where our bodies met, I saw how my thighs were flushed pink. But that was nothing in comparison to my cock, which was slick with pre-come and throbbing painfully. I wanted to touch myself, to relieve some of the pressure building up, but my arms were still bound behind my back. I was helpless against the onslaught of sensations he was creating.

        It was too much. I didn’t know how much more of this I could take.

        He raised me up, cock slipping out to the very tip, then he crushed me back down. I twitched around him as I screamed out, clutching him tight enough to make his rhythm falter.

        “Shit,” he groaned.  

        “Eren, I want to come. Let me come.”

        He licked my ear and whispered, “Then come.”

        Everything tightened up, muscles going taut like they recognized his command, then pleasure shot out from the spot where I joined with him. My mouth fell open on a silent cry as my inner walls clenched around his cock, pulsing hard as I came onto the bed, but his movements never eased up. He kept thrusting into me until I cried myself hoarse.

        When he finally pulled out minutes later, he said, “Get on your knees.”

        I scrambled to do what he asked, even when my muscles protested. He stood up beside the bed once I was in the position he wanted me in, and I understood what he wanted. Watching him slide off the ring from around his length, I leaned forward and stuck my tongue out as he began to stroke himself fast.

        “You look so sexy like that,” Eren said in a throaty voice.

        I looked up at him with an innocent expression. The second we made eye contact, his brows pinched together and he came on my face with a drawn out groan. I licked up the bit that fell on my lips, teasing him until his orgasm began to taper off. Then I wrapped my lips around the head of his cock to clean him up.

        “Fuck, Levi.”

        I let him slide out of my mouth before I said, “You’re so lucky I’m wearing my glasses right now. If I weren’t, you would have shot come straight into my eye.”

        Eren burst out laughing. “What a way to conclude my first birthday present of the day.”

        “Shh, you love me.”

        “I really do.”

        “Good. Now uncuff me, because my arms are starting to hurt.” After Eren relieved me of the leather handcuffs, I threw my arms around his neck. “Carry me to the shower. You’ve ruined my legs for the next few hours.”

        He lifted me up and started walking to the bathroom downstairs. “We could always be late—”

        “No we can’t. Armin will kill us both. We have to be there in an hour. No exceptions.”

        “Fine. Fine. We’ll be there in an hour.”

        We were almost to the first floor when I spotted Snickers curled up on the bottom step. She turned her head in our direction and stared at us maliciously.

        “Do you think she knows you just fucked my brains out?” I asked.

        “She looks like she wants to kill me.”

        “Oh my god. She knows,” I said, horrified.

        The rest of the way to the bathroom, Eren laughed like he was close to popping a lung.

 

\---

 

Armin stood outside the club when we arrived there at noon. He waved to us and then threw himself at Eren the moment he stepped out of the car.

        “Happy Birthday, you scrumptious old man!” Armin yelled into his ear, which caused him to wince. “I’m glad I get to see your ugly mug at age twenty-seven! I’m going to take as many pictures as sixty SD cards can hold.”

        “That’s too many pictures, and you’ll be twenty-seven in eight months.”

        “No! I refuse to turn twenty-seven. That’s too close to thirty. I’ll stay twenty-six for the rest of my life, even when I’m dead.”

        With Armin still latched onto Eren, we walked into the club to find both Jean and Mikasa at the bar. Jean rolled his eyes when he saw Armin had become a human leech.

        “Happy Birthday.” Mikasa stood up so she could come join us. I noticed she was wearing a black dress I’d given her as a _Thank you_ present for having watched over Snickers while the whole ordeal with Reiner happened. The memory still caused my heart to seize up with fear and rage. It took me a moment too long to return her smile, but she opted not to draw attention to me for obvious reasons. “Are you ready to get your first gift?”

        Eren shot me a knowing look. _I’d_ been his first gift. “Sure.”

        “You sound super enthusiastic about it,” Jean said in a sarcastic tone.

        Armin released his anaconda hold at last. “Come on. It’s out front.” He led Eren back outside, toward the parking lot. I had no idea what they’d bought him. Eren hadn’t been specific about what he wanted. All he asked for was to spend time with all of us. If I were to be honest, I would admit that I didn’t expect him to be thrilled with any of our gifts. He wasn’t big on materialistic stuff. At least that’s what I thought up until I saw his present.

        He was definitely going to like that.

        “Is that the Yamaha Road Star S?” Eren asked, practically salivating over the black motorcycle in front of him.

        Jean clapped him on the shoulder. “Hell yes it is. Happy with it?”

        “I’m dying,” murmured Eren in response.

        “I knew you’d love it!” Armin ran over to his car and popped open the trunk. He extracted two motorcycle helmets. When he came back with them, he handed one to me. “How about you take a ride with your man before we head out to celebrate?”

        “I don’t know,” I teased.

        Eren grinned at me and leaned up against the bike. He folded his arms over his chest. “Are you this conservative about everything?”

        I recognized that line, although I’d heard it over a year ago in a small parking lot located in front of a rundown diner. I smiled wide. “Is there something wrong with that?”

        “Yes. It’s boring.”

        Handing Armin my glasses, I slipped the helmet on and said to Eren, “Move aside.” I swung my leg over the seat, but this time I didn’t hesitate to wrap my arms around his waist when he climbed on after me.

        The day I’d met him felt so long ago, a distant memory that was well preserved in my mind’s eye. I’d been a different person back then. Someone who questioned everything because of the self-doubt that marred every path I wanted to take, but he’d taught me how to be confident. He showed me that I could achieve anything as long as I worked hard for it. Now nothing seemed impossible.

        “Are you ready?” Eren asked.

        Overcome with emotion, I simply nodded. He started up the motorcycle after that and gave a wave to everyone before he drove out of the parking lot. As we soared by cars, I felt grateful for being able to be with him right now. We’d been through so much together and came out stronger on the other side every time.

        Where would I be if I hadn’t met him?

        My thoughts were interrupted when I suddenly recognized where he had taken us. Eren pulled into the diner we’d met at like he had thought about doing this from the moment he woke up. It looked exactly as I remembered it. When he parked some distance away from the front entrance, I took off the helmet and gazed at the building in front of us.

        “This is where it all began,” Eren said as he removed his helmet.

        “And to think I nearly turned down the offer to watch over the underground fight.”

        “Do you regret accepting the job?”

        I shook my head. “Not even a little bit.”

        He climbed off the bike then, and I followed after him. I thought he was planning to go inside the diner for some reminiscing, so it surprised me to no end when he sunk down on one knee in front of me. My heart leaped into my throat as I realized what was about to happen. I couldn’t think or speak or do much of anything except stare at him in surprise.

        Eren looked up at me as he produced a satin box from his front pocket. He took my hand and said, “I’ve thought of a million ways to ask you this, but memorizing a speech didn’t seem good enough for you. I didn’t want to sit here and recite lines. I want to tell you something that comes straight from my heart, but all I can think of is how I can’t imagine a future without you in it. I know it’s going to be hard, that we’ll have fights and we’ll disagree on things, but there’s no one else I’d want to do that with. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Levi.” He opened the box. The silver band caught my eye and I started crying. “I love you more each and every day, so will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”

        I all but collapsed to my knees and hugged him to me. “Yes! I love you so much, Eren. Yes a million times.” I kissed him.

        “Give me your hand.”

        I held my hand out to him and he slipped the ring onto my finger. I burst out crying again. “I’m so happy. I’ll probably cry for the rest of the night.”

        He smiled. It was a wobbly mess. “And so it begins.”

        “What does?”

        “The rest of our lives together.”   

        I grabbed his hand. “And I can’t wait to spend it with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't remember how many times I almost gave up writing this fic. Not because I didn't enjoy writing it, but because of health problems that made writing almost impossible, but I'm so glad I never gave up. I'm beyond happy that I get to see this story come to a close.
> 
> Thank you so very much for your support. I can't thank you guys enough for sticking with me through it all.
> 
> With love,
> 
> Trish


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